Sekirei: Steel of the Bond
by Icee Ultra
Summary: When Sahashi Minato fails the entrance exam to his college for a second time, he is reminded of his spinelessness by his ruthless mother. On his way home, he finds a woman being assaulted by a thug, and proceeds to attempt to save her. What happens next will change his life forever, for better or worse. (MinatoxLargeHarem - AU - Slight Genderbending - M to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. Welcome to my new story based on Sekirei. Not much to talk about right now, so let's get right into it.**

Sekirei: Steel of the Bond

Chapter 1: A New Path

 **0o0**

It was a hot summer day. Possibly the last one of its kind for the rest of the year. The hustle and bustle of everyday life slowly merged in and out of itself along the streets of 2020 Tokyo, splitting along crosswalks and around corners. Groups of people, nearly shoulder to shoulder, just going on with life as it would normally. Just another day in paradise for the residents of Shinto Teito.

A young man stood out from the crowd of citizens. He was on the tall, lanky side. 6 feet tall, on the dot. His jet black hair giving off a soft sheen, contradicting the fact that he rarely went out of his way to style or take extra care of his hair. Jeans, white sneakers and his favorite denim jacket that he was given a few months before his trip to the city. He let out a hefty sigh, hesitating to grab his cell phone from his pocket.

He gathered the courage to pull his phone out and dial in his mother's number. He immediately regretted his decision when he heard the anxious voice of his mother awaiting the news on his attempt at getting into his university.

"Hello?" Called a deep, but still feminine voice. He always loved hearing his mother's voice. The stern authority behind it always let him know that he was alright as a child. But now that he bad news, and on his part no less, it scared him beyond belief.

"H-Hey, mom." He finally spoke, with a hint of grief in his voice.

"How'd it go?" That's his mom, alright. Straight to the point, as per usual.

"I… I failed it… again…" He admitted. This was now his second attempt at being accepted into the university he wanted. He was actually wanted by the university themselves, considering his above-average-and-then-some grades, but when it came to tests, his timidity got the best of him. Growing up a male in an all-female household would change you as a kid. He always had his opinions shot down, and his little sister was always ragging on him about one thing or the other, so he never really grew a spine, at the fault of his family.

"Again? Christ, Minato, you're a real piece of work." For a 19 year old, hearing this would damage ones morale pretty badly, but for Minato, this was just another normal talk with his mother.

"Yeah… I know…" He really had nothing to retaliate with, or at least nothing he knew of.

"Well, what are you planning on doing? You wanna stay in the city or do you plan on coming home?"

Minato thought back on his life out in the more rural areas of Japan. Where everyone was friends with one another and strangers were trustable. The city was a big change. Nothing like he had ever seen, or even dreamed of.

"I don't know. I feel like I might want to try again, or at least try and make it by… I'll have to think about it."

"Well, until you decide, I'm cutting down your allowance." She said, her son's emotional state not phasing her in the slightest.

"B-But mo-!"

"No buts, this is your fault." She interjected quickly. She was right, but only partly. His family life was also to blame for his lack of courage. But then again, life is hard, and his mother knew this the best. She knew she would have to either grow up fast, or give up. And for her, and the way she was raised, giving up wasn't an option.

"Okay… If you say so. I'll see what I can do." He sighed once again, realizing that there was no way out of this. No excuse he could pull to try and gain sympathy from his mother.

"Goodbye Minato, and be safe." She hung up, giving him no time to respond. He understood the abrupt ending to their conversation, however. She was a very busy woman. Or at least that's how she made her job out to be. He didn't know what working for a pharmaceutical company entailed, but he assumed that by the level of stress his mother had shown, it couldn't be easy. He groaned, and hung his head, making his way back to his flat based more on memory than actually looking where he was going.

 **0o0**

A half an hour pass, and the crowd of citizens slowly decreases to only a few people making their way to their jobs. The sun was setting over the horizon. Minato walks out of a small department store, with the automatic doors clearing his path of the wall of glass in his way. Carrying a plastic bag, filled with things like instant noodles, drinks, and things of that nature, he made his way further home. Just a few more blocks, and he would finally be home, where he could relax and think about what his next move in his life would be.

Suddenly, he heard a faint scream from off in the distance. He turned in the direction from which it originated, and contemplated what he should do.

His timidity told him to ignore it. It was none of his business. Whatever it was, it didn't concern him.

But, his bravery, a side of him which he rarely heard from, told him to go. To figure out what had caused the scream. There could be someone in danger. Someone that needed his help. And for one of the few times in his life, he decided to listen to his courageous side. He made a mad dash for the location of the scream.

Running block after block, looking down alleyways as he blew past them, trying his best to make out what seemed like human-ish blurs. That was really all he could see while he tried to keep the speed at which he was going, and he held that speed, just in case the situation was worse than he thought.

He flew past once last alleyway, and noticed some movement. What looked like a girl struggling against a man in a green hoody. The girl had pretty blue eyes, and a matching blue ribbon running around her head and through her short, light orange locks. She was wearing a pretty white gown with black stockings and white boots, along with matching black arm-length gloves. He had her by the wrist, forcing her closer to him, while she tried to yank away her hand, to no avail. He stopped, nearly skidding on the heels of his shoes, and turned back and into the alleyway to confront the man.

"Hey! W-What's going on here!" He tried his best to hide the fear in his voice. Who knows what this creep was doing? Maybe he was a pervert? A serial killer? All were possibilities, and all possibilities planted fear in his mind.

"Who the fuck'r you? Some knight in shit armor?" He laughed a deep, annoying laugh. Something that, alone, irked Minato to no end. "I suggest you fuck off, prince charming, before you both get hurt." He yanked the girl closer, as she could do nothing but let him. She couldn't hurt him, and she knew it.

The creep's mouth spread into a wry smile as his free hand reached up and groped the girl's breast, violating her. Dirtying her with his own proverbial filth. She screamed out again.

"Please… Why are you doing this..?" She let out, tears welling in her eyes.

"Because I want you as my new bitch. I couldn't care less about this 'ashikabi' and 'sekirei' bullshit." He spoke, malice practically rolling off him.

Minato's hands curled into fists, his nails digging into his palm, and he grit his teeth. "You let her go, this instant! Or else…"

"Or else what, pussy? You gonna play hero and fight me over some random whore? You're not very bright, are you?" He sneered. This nearly sent Minato over the edge, but he kept his composure. He had always been taught to respect others, especially women. Seeing this… filth… treat such a fair woman like trash made him seeth with rage. But, again, and as always, his lack of courage had got the better of him. All of the worst case scenarios played over in his head. What if he had a knife? What if he had friends? What if, what if, what if, looping over and over in his head as the scum before him continued to violate this helpless girl.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, he took off, like a bullet, towards the green clad man.

"Yes, I AM!" And he swung. As hard as he could, never putting as much physical effort into something before in his life. He wanted to help her. To make sure this man wouldn't hurt her ever again. He didn't want to kill him, but he wanted to teach him a lesson he would never forget.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of his fist meeting the man's face. But it never came. Instead, a hard, sharp pain erupted in his abdomen. The man had dodged his punch, and delivered a knee to Minato's stomach. During this attack, however, he had to let go of the girl. She backed away quickly, but her tears stopped momentarily. She leaned against the wall as she saw Minato crumble down, doubled over in pain. The man delivered a hard kick to his side, and Minato fell, screaming out in agony as the man's booted foot collided with his torso.

"Dumbass! Have you ever been in a fight before!?" The man delivered a few more kicks to seal the deal. "I told you it was stupid. But you didn't LISTEN!" Another kick to his abdomen. "And now look at what you've gone and gotten yourself into?"

The girl's knees gave out, as she let her back slide against the brick wall to bring her to a sitting position. The fear in her chest was replaced with a burning feeling. When she saw the strange man in the denim jacket come to her rescue only to be brutally beaten, a fire erupted in her chest. She placed a hand over her breast as a light pink hue began to dust her cheeks.

 _'Is… Is this man my…'_ She thought to herself. _'My ashikabi..? Why would he risk his life for me..?'_ Just the thought of the man made the burning feeling in her chest grow. She felt as if her breath was being stolen from her, and she began panting hard. _'He has to be… That would be the only thing that could explain… This feeling… This desire…'_

One last kick. Minato coughed up a few specks of blood.

"You just couldn't ignore it, could you? You just had to go and get yourself FUCKED UP, huh?" The man gloated. "Guess it was worth a shot, huh, dumbass?" He sneered again. "Now, back to what we were talki-"

He was interrupted by the sound of metal scraping against cement, small sparks being emitted as it moved on. He looked up quickly, only to see the same girl he had taken advantage of dragging a gigantic steel mallet towards him, using only one hand. She was breathing heavily, but he knew it wasn't from the effort she put into pulling the hammer. Her bangs covered her eyes as she inched closer and closer. She knew she couldn't harm him. But she was pretty close to breaking that rule. The most she could do was use scare tactics, at least long enough to get this disgusting man away from her destined one.

"Wh-What the hell is that?!" He shouted, taking a step back.

"Get… away…" She murmured.

"Huh?" The man take a few steps back away from the defeated Minato. By this point, the blunt force trauma he had experienced had sent him into a state of unconsciousness.

"Get away… From my ASHIKABI!" She slung the hammer around in front of her, emotions of hate and anger flooding her mind. All that she could think about was the image of Minato getting pummeled. Her destined partner being beaten to the verge of death in front of her. Needless to say, she was not pleased in the slightest. But again, she remembered. Scare tactics were the most she could do.

"H-H-Holy shit, you're fucking crazy! Fuck you, bitch!" The man turned on his heels and ran as fast as he could. He rounded the corner of the alley, and he was gone.

She let out a hefty sigh, nearly crumbling to her knees. Now that the menace that threatened her destined partner's life was gone, all of the malicious emotions had dissipated. Now, all she felt was desire. The desire to help the person that had rescued her from a forced bonding. She would have been stuck with that person for the rest of the plan if it wasn't for her savior's unexpected appearance. She dropped the hammer, letting it emit a loud clang as it shook the ground around it. She dropped to her knees in front of her savior. He was slightly shaking, but still unconscious. She felt for a pulse, and saw that it was steady.

She let out a huge sigh of relief. She felt around his abdomen for severe damages done to him. Nothing broken, surprisingly. But his midsection was covered with ugly bruises. She picked him up with ease, and sat next to a wall, leaning against it, and resting his head upon her lap.

Now that she got a better look at him, she noticed more of his facial features. From his jawline to his brow, he seemed to have a very soft, but at the same time, strong appearance. And this appearance was incredibly handsome to her, regardless of the occasional pained wince he let out. She brushed a stray strand of hair from his face, and smiled. The burning in her chest was now searing, but she held her composure. She had just nearly been subjected to a forced bonding, and she wouldn't wish that kind of thing upon anyone. So she gained the willpower to wait until he awoke.

 **0o0**

Around 10 minutes pass, and Minato slowly begins to stir. His eyes slowly cracked open, slightly wincing at the pain he now noticed originating from his abdomen. But he quickly ignored it as he stared into the blue eyes of a girl. Her light-orange hair hanging down as she gave him a look of surprise.

"O-Oh, you're finally awake!" She stuttered, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "Are you okay? Does anything still hurt?"

Minato simply couldn't help but stare at the beautiful woman that he was with. Her eyes were filled with worry, and she was blushing slightly for some reason. He then realized the position they were in. He looked to his side, and saw her breasts, leading down to her abdomen, and then her hips. He then realized that his head was resting upon her lap. He blushed heavily and shot up, a vermillion hue covering his face.

"I-I'm sorry, miss! I didn't mea-" He was cut off by the pain in his abdomen returning due to the sudden movement. "Ow… That hurts."

"Please, don't stress your body! Be careful. You really took a beating back there." He then remembered the whole ordeal, from him running to the origin of the scream, to him on the ground being pummeled by some thug.

"Oh, yeah… Guess I kind of did. Heheh…" He scratched the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. "But I'm okay, for the most part. What about yourself?"

She blushed, relishing in the feeling of knowing that her future ashikabi cares about her well being. "I'm fine, albeit a bit shook up."

"That's good. I'm glad I could help." He said, the sincerity in his voice almost impossible to miss.

"Thank you… So much. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for this. But I do have another request." She blushed harder as she got closer to the sekirei equivalent of 'popping the question.' She unconsciously fidgeted. "Could you become… My ashikabi..?" She blurted.

Minato tilted his head slightly. "Ashi… huh? What's that?"

She blushed hard, forgetting to even inform him on the current situation she was in. "Oh, I forgot to explain. Well, where to begin…" She placed a finger on her chin. "Well, for starters, I am what is called a sekirei."

Minato silently listened, his interest in what she was talking about growing by the minute.

"The sekirei are… Well, by your terms, and alien race. We were discovered and rescued from the wreckage of our ship and placed into a game of survival." She explained with a completely serious face. If she was lying, she sure knew how to cover it up. "We sekirei have what is called an ashikabi. Ashikabi's are considered destined soulmates to sekirei. There is a scientific explanation to it, I'm sure, but… No one ever informed me on it." She hung her head due to her ignorance of her own race.

"It's okay, I'm sure we can figure it out later. Please, continue." Minato said, still enchanted by the tale this beautiful girl was weaving. If it were anyone else, Minato would have assumed they were crazy and went on with his day, but for some reason… He felt compelled to believe her.

"Okay… Our goal as sekirei is to go out and find our destined ashikabi. When we do, we are then able to use our full power for the second phase of the sekirei plan. The second phase is when most of the fighting will begin."

This was when Minato had to stop her. "Okay, so let me get this straight; You are a part of an alien race that crashed on Earth, and you have these random people that are basically your soulmates that you need to fight in an all-out free-for-all against other sekirei?" Minato tried his best to understand, but still needed a lot of clarification.

"Well… It's kind of a crude way to put it, but yes, I would say that is accurate." She replied.

"Hmm… I don't know why, but I believe you. So, now, you think that I am your so called destined ashikabi? Why? There isn't much about me that is extraordinary. Sure I'm smart, but I failed the entrance exam to my college twice. I'm not really gifted in sports, so why me?" He asked. He always had a habit of putting himself down, something else he had developed due to his life growing up in a dominantly female household.

"Our ashikabis are not determined by what they can do. They are determined by who they are. And right now, I'm showing telltale signs of what's called a reaction. I'm reacting to you. I know it." She reached over and grasped his hand gently, her soft gloves gliding against his skin. She took his hand and placed it over her left breast. He felt a large amount of blood rush to his head as he blushed heavily.

"What a-are-"

"Can you feel it? My heart?" He ignored the initial embarrassment and nodded, still blushing like mad. "It's beating for you. My name is Yashima, Sekirei #84, and I want you as my Ashikabi, mister..?"

"O-Oh, Minato. Sahashi Minato." He managed to sputter out. "It's very nice to meet you, Yashima-san. And… I think I'd like to be your ashikabi. I don't know what would be expected of me, but I'm willing to take that risk." He felt his courageous side take control and rolled the dice. This decision would change his life forever, and he knew it. He was prepared as much as he would ever be.

Yashima nodded, the hue of her cheeks going from a light pink dusting to a full red stain as she leaned in close, practically crawling onto Minato. "Then, accept me as your sekirei, Minato-sama."

"Wait, w-what are you-" He was cut off as Yashima closed the distance, and locked into a deep kiss with her soulmate. She placed her hands on his shoulders and slipped her tongue into his mouth, to which he gladly accepted, simply deciding to go along with it. His first kiss, stolen by a beautiful maiden he risked his life to save.

Suddenly, gigantic, bright blue wings sprouted from her back and lit up the alley with their ominous glow. He stared in awe as they slowly pulsated and flapped gently. Yashima let out a small moan into the kiss, and finally broke away due to lack of oxygen, causing the wings to dissipate as fast as they appeared.

"The hammer of my pledge! Shatter the enemy of my Ashikabi! Now and forevermore." She smiled brightly at Minato, who was still star struck by the magnificent lightshow he was just exposed to, before resting upon his lap and nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. "Thank you, Minato-sama."

Minato was left speechless and flushed like a mad man. All the events of today played back in his mind like a broken record. Failing the entrance exam for the second time, facing a brutal verbal assault from his mother, saving a beautiful girl from a thug looking to exploit her for his own gain, and then finding out that the very same girl he saved wasn't even human, and that he was destined to be her partner, 'now and forevermore.'

He finally gathered his ability to think again after a few minutes of just sitting, and spoke. "Yashima-san, do you have anywhere to go..?" To which he received no reply. "Yashi-" He looked down to see the girl was fast asleep, obviously drained from the whole ordeal. He felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead, as he gently shook her to wake her up.

"Hm..? Oh, Minato-sama… Sorry, I fell asleep… I haven't slept in a few days…." He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. If her whole story was true, then she must have been just as physically drained as she was emotionally. He chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. But from what I gathered, it sounds like you don't have a place to go." The nodded in agreement. She didn't like admitting it, but she was technically homeless. "Well, how would you like to live with me for the time being?" She nearly jumped at the offer.

"Of course, Minato-sama! I would love to!" He laughed at her overly enthusiasm.

"Well, alright then. But… I think you're gonna have to carry that hammer on your own." She remembered her weapon. The oversized hunk of steel with a handle wasn't necessarily the most discrete of tools. She then assumed the worse and believed he was implying she was a burden to him.

"I'm sorry, Minato-sama! I don't wanna be a burden!" She gave him the classic puppy dog eyes, and he quickly reassured her that she was fine.

"No, no, I'm sure we'll find a place for it. I'm just more concerned with you having to carry it." He held his hands in front of him as a sign of defense.

"Oh… Oh." She blushed. "There isn't a need to worry about that. I'm much stronger than I look!" She then demonstrated by balancing the hammer on one finger. He gawked at the amazing feat of strength and laughed slightly.

"Well, then I guess since that's out of the way, what do you say we head home?" He walked towards her, slightly limping due to the throbbing pain in his midsection.

"Yes, sir! Ready!" She beamed. He smiled back, and they made their way back to his small apartment, both of them drained from nearly all of their energy from the past events that had unfolded.

 **0o0**

 **AN: Well, there's the first chapter. Thanks for reading guys!**

 **For those of you wondering about my other stories and why I deleted them, well my answer to my actions is that I just really didn't like them.**

 **And by that, I mean they were incredibly cringey in my own opinion.**

 **So, I figured I would start over and make a fanfic based on one of my favorite shows.**

 **If you liked this fanfic, leave a favorite, share it with friends, and leave reviews detailing what you would like to see in further updates.**

 **Thanks guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I read the few reviews you guys gave me. Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! I'll see if I can incorporate your advice into my writing so it can be more enjoyable for you guys to read. I'm really glad you're all enjoying this so far! I'm currently on vacation and my friend let me borrow her laptop so I could jot down a short story I had in mind about one of my favorite shows. I got really caught up into it and ended up writing into the night and finally stopping myself at around 3 in the morning! But, alas, I decided to cut it off so I could get some sleep.**

 **One thing I noticed was my pretense/past tense narrating, which I'll try and find which one is more comfortable along the way.**

 **Along with that, I'll try and focus on effectively replicating the characters personalities and emotions. I noticed how I made Minato readily accept the violent game he was just thrown in, so I'll see where I can take it.**

 **Among other things, I'll see what I can do. I hope you guys like this second chapter of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond!**

 **0o0**

 **Chapter 2: A New Path, Part 2**

 **0o0**

The sun was slowly setting over the horizon, with its rays of light glistening off of the distant building's windows, with heat gently rising from the cement on the roads and sidewalks.

Minato was walking back to his apartment with Yashima, who was clinging to his left arm, pushing it between her breasts without realizing the impact it had on Minato. He was blushing like crazy, and tried his best to hide his embarrassment in fear that he would accidentally hurt her feelings somehow. She was beaming from ear to ear, however, happy as ever that she had finally found her destined partner, lightly humming as she clung to Minato.

The walk was relatively quiet. From the occasional honk of a distant car stuck in traffic, to another person, either glaring at Minato with a slight hatred because he had this attractive girl clinging to his arm, or gawking at the gigantic hammer the girl seemed to easily drag behind her, were the only real disturbances in their walk to Minato's flat. Luckily, the few people who saw the hunk of steel that was comparable to the size of a smart car assumed it was fake, and that she was a cosplayer or something of that ilk, which was common in the part of town they were in.

Minato sighed, still somewhat clutching his bruised abdomen, but now walking normally as the pain began to slowly subside. The sun was cut in half by the horizon as they finally made it to the shabby little building that Minato called home. He sighed at the pitiful excuse of an abode.

"Well. We're here…" He laughed awkwardly, embarrassed yet again by his lack of wealth in the presence of what is most likely his soulmate, if Yashima's story held up. Though, now that he thought of it, he had no reason to be skeptical. From the huge hunk of steel she carried with ease to the beautiful neon-blue wings that sprouted from her back caused by simple kissing her, it seemed pretty hard for him to think it was a farce.

Yashima smiled. "It looks cozy. I like it!" She noticed the twinge of embarrassment in his voice, and tried her best to cheer her up. She felt as if it was her duty to look after Minato, both physically and emotionally. She felt her heart flutter as Minato smiled at her, the kindness in his eyes making her feel as if she was going to melt on the spot.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it. Let's go." Minato noticed the pink hue that dusted her cheeks, which only made his self-esteem skyrocket. Yashima nodded in approval, and they climbed the stairs to his door.

Minato began thinking about the sekirei plan. He felt as if he had the gist of the plan in mind, but what disturbed him was the mention of fighting. The idea of beautiful, kind girls such as Yashima fighting against 107 others of her own kind? It didn't sit well with him. Who could have done something like this? Why did they have to fight? Was there a way to stop this before innocent people were hurt? His mind flooded with questions he intended to get the answers to, but he pushed them out of his mind when he glanced at the cheery face of Yashima. Whatever he had to do, if it helped her, and her people, he wanted to do it. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt the nagging feeling of dread. The possibility of Yashima being defeated and… And…

He shook the bad thoughts out of his head. For now, all was well. And he could learn more about it tomorrow. He didn't think prying answers from Yashima was a good idea, considering her well-hidden physical exhaustion and obvious mental strain weighing her down. He didn't want to take away her happiness by asking questions. He wanted to preserve it.

Minato dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small key ring. He found the key that corresponded with his apartment's door, and unlocked it. Walking in, he remembered that he hadn't properly cleaned in a while. Empty instant noodle cups littered the coffee table, textbooks and loose sheets of paper scattered across the couch and floor. It was an absolute pig sty.

"S-Sorry about the mess… I didn't think I would be having company this evening." He let out his signature awkward chuckle. He had expected her to sneer, even slightly, at the mess presented before her. But she didn't.

"It's fine, I understand. Would you like some help with cleaning?" Yashima questioned, staring into those kind grey eyes of his that she found herself getting easily lost in. They both walked to the living room, where she placed her hammer in a corner, trying to make it as discrete as she could make a giant block of steel. The both sat down on the couch next to each other on the couch, after Minato collected the papers and textbooks.

"Yeah, that would be nice. But, first, I think we should go bathe." He noticed the musk that his clothes were emitting, a mixture of the scent of sweat and filth with a hint of dried blood from the beating he endured previously.

Yashima, however, blushed heavily. "H-Huh..? B-B-Bathe?" Her face taking on a new shade of red.

Minato cocked his head slightly to the side. "Uh, yes. I got a little dirtied from that fight, and I figured you'd like to take one, so I was offering you the opportunity. What's wrong?"

"B-But we've only just met… And you already want to… To bathe with me..?" She barely managed the squeak out. She held her arms parallel to one another over her chest and positioned her hands in front of her mouth. Now it was Minato's turn to take on a shade of red.

"What? W-What are you talking about?" He then thought back on what he said, and realized where the miscommunication came from. "OH! No, no, I'm sorry! I didn't mea-"

Yashima interjected. "W-Well… I suppose it's alright… since you are my ashikabi…" She grasped the shoulder of her gown and turned her head away from Minato, trying her best to overcome her own shyness to please her ashikabi, or at least do what she thought he wanted. She began to slowly pull down the shoulder of her gown, giving Minato a better view of her cleavage.

Blood nearly erupted from his nose as he shot back, gripping his nostrils and holding his hand out in defense. "W-Whoa, just calm down! I didn't mean that!" She recoiled slightly, and held her gown in her hand.

"Does… Does that mean you don't want to see my body..? Does it not please you..?" Her timidity began to take over, and she assumed the worst. She felt tears welling behind her eyes slowly, thinking she had displeased Minato. "Do you not want me?"

He nearly shouted in protest. "A-Absolutely not! I never said that! I-I mean, I…" He worked up the courage yet again to tell her how he truly felt. "Listen… I would never get rid of you. I wouldn't do something like that to you. You're absolutely fantastic, just the way you are. And I wouldn't change you for anything." His blush still held strong.

The sudden revelation of Minato's true feelings caused such a fluctuation in Yashima's feelings, it caused her to let her tears run. "R… Really..? Is that how you truly feel?" She had never been treated with such sincerity. No one had ever held her at such a pedestal. No one ever told her that she was perfect or fantastic. She remembered the tuners, who would stick her with needles and inject drugs into her system for reasons they never disclosed. She was in constant pain. The cold scientists never showed any emotion. She was constantly scared of their prying eyes, judging her every feature. She never felt safe.

When she was finally released with her instructions regarding the Sekirei Plan, she was constantly being stared at, just like how the scientists who tampered with her own DNA against her will. She was confronted by that man in the alleyway, and when she tried to tell him about the plan and her instructions, he disregarded them. He didn't care for her, or who she was. He only wanted to use her for his own personal gain. She hated that feeling of being used. Then, this man. This handsome, kind, caring young man that risked his own life to save hers even though she was still just a stranger at the time. That feeling of being wanted. That feeling of being loved. She had never felt it. And Minato had finally given her that feeling.

"Yes, absolutely." His face turned serious quickly. He didn't know where this new surge of courage came from, but he just felt it. He thought back on days when his sister, Yukari, wasn't as domineering as she usually was. Times where she would get lost in the forest by their old house or times when she got stuck in trees came back to mind. It felt like one of those times he had experienced before. Moments when he felt courage surge through him. Moments where he knew that he had to help, because no one else would. He would always comfort his little sister when he finally found her, or carry her down when she got stuck in a tree. He was always there for her. And this felt no different.

Yashima sniffled once, then let out a cry of happiness, and dove into Minato's abdomen. He winced heavily, but tried his best to mask it. He didn't want to cause her any more grief than what was already put on her.

"T-Thank you so much, Minato-sama!" The steady stream of tears tuned to near bawling as she let it all out. Minato ignored the pain caused by her iron grip, and wrapped his arms around her, while running his fingers though her hair to try and comfort her. He smiled slightly. It really did feel just as if he was back with Yukari, comforting her.

"It's okay… I'm here. And I always will be."

 **0o0**

After Yashima had finished crying, which lasted for a few minutes, he felt her grip loosen on his midsection. He decided to let her rest there for a while longer, continuing the stroking motions he made to pet her hair. He felt content with his previous decisions. Now and then, he would get the urge to do something brave, but his ingrained shyness always pulled him back. This time, he decided to listen to his urges, and spoke his mind. He truly did care for her. After all, he was her supposed destined soulmate. He was still skeptical on the subject of what his duties as an ashikabi were, and his anxiety got the best of him. Those worst-case-scenarios played back in his mind. But now wasn't the time.

"Hey, Yashima-san. How about you go get your shower first? I think I can wait." He stopped his petting motions and looked down at her. No response.

"Uhh… Yashima-san?" He noticed that her arms had gone limp, but she was still breathing gently, her chest rising and falling. She had fallen asleep on his chest without him realizing it.

 _'Wow…'_ He thought. _'She must really be as drained as I thought…'_ He smiled, now able to get a good look at her face without the fear of looking strange. She had soft, cute cheeks that ran down and curved into her jaw. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and he could feel her warm breaths against his chest, which made him flush slightly. Her hair was remarkably clean and well kept, and her signature blue ribbon was tied around her head, and her black choker still tight around her throat, but not so much as to restrict her breathing. He sighed.

 _'She really is beautiful.'_ He managed to slip out from under her without waking her up. He walked to his bathroom after propping her head up with a throw pillow, and closed the door, locking it. He stripped down, and placed his dirty clothes in the hamper he had next to the sink. Stepping into the small shower, he switched on the hot water and fiddled with it to get his desired temperature. He sighed, and let the water cleanse the filth of the day away.

Once he had finished, he grabbed a sweatshirt and sweatpants to wear as pajamas, and dried his hair off a bit more. He glanced over to his couch and saw that Yashima was still snoozing. He smiled. He threw the towel into the hamper that held his dirtied clothing. He still hadn't gotten around to cleaning up, but there were more important things to take care of.

He walked over to Yashima, and lifted her from the couch she was sleeping on. He noted how light she was. He thought she would have had a bit more muscle on her because of the hulking hammer she used as a weapon, but deduced that it was probably 'just a sekirei thing.' He carried her into his room, and placed her in his bed after managing to pull the comforter down far enough to place her underneath it. He pulled the thick blanket over her, with the moonlight of the night shining in through the window they were next to.

Suddenly, Yashima began to stir as Minato had finished covering her up.

"Mm… Minato… Sama?" Her eyelids opened, revealing those gorgeous blue eyes that Minato could never get over. "Is this..?"

Minato finished for her. "Yeah, it's my bed. I'm letting you sleep here tonight, since you're technically my guest." He gave that caring smile that Yashima adored seeing directed towards her. "I was going to grab my extra futon, so you can rest easy." He brushed a strand of hair from her face which made her cheeks flare. He stood up to leave, saying goodnight, but he was stopped by a light tug at his shirt. He turned back and saw the piercing gaze of Yashima, a look of desire and love in her eyes.

"Thank you, Minato-sama. For everything." Minato couldn't help but smile wide.

He was about to say something, before his lips were captured in a deep, passionate kiss with Yashima. She had leant up and pulled him down by the collar of his shirt so she could lock lips with the man who had helped her so much. Even prior, she didn't know. Her brilliant bright blue wings shot from her back and illuminated the dark room with their glow.

She had never been treated like this. She had been given a house to live in, a bed to sleep in, and the love that she deserved, given to her all by a man that hardly even knew her, and yet had gone out of his way to help her. She now knew.

She loved Minato, and would do anything to make him happy, as he has made her.

Minato was caught off-guard by the sudden gesture, but quickly adjusted to it, and deepened the kiss by allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck as he wrapped his own around her midsection. They continued to explore one another's mouths with their tongues, occasionally having them wrestle against each other, before they finally broke away, breathing heavily, but Minato more so.

"Minato-sama… I… I love you." She hugged him tight. "And if you'd like… You can sleep here… With me." Her offer only led Minato to flush red.

"U-Uh… I… I mean…" He sputtered clumsily.

"It's fine if you don't want to, but if you did… I wouldn't mind." Minato forced his anxiety and embarrassment from his mind, and forced out an answer.

"A-Alright. If you insist, I guess…" He had to fight to keep blood from gushing from his nostrils as he crawled into the covers next to Yashima. How could he say no to her? She reached under the blanket and removed her stockings and gloves, along with her choker and ribbon, and placed them on the nightstand, having already taken off her boots at the door. She cuddled close to him, placing his left arm in a similar position to that of how she did when they were walking to his house earlier; his upper arm finding a spot between her breasts, which in and of itself caused him to flush red, but he noted that it was surprisingly comfortable. She wrapped one arm under and around his, so she could lace her fingers with his, and used her other arm to hold him close, savoring the feeling of safety in his body heat.

"Goodnight, Minato-sama." She whispered, before placing a small peck on his cheek. He smiled, still blushing. He felt a sense of accomplishment from his current position. It felt like Yashima had broken through a layer of her shyness. Her timidity was now much less of an impact as it was previously. But it was still prevalent. But he was content in the progress that he had made.

"Goodnight, Yashima-chan." Minato's addition of the new suffix made her beam with happiness. She nuzzled her cheek into the crook of his neck, and relaxed. Minato pulled the covers over them both, and planted a kiss on Yashima's head before falling fast asleep, completely worn out from all of the day's events.

 **0o0**

 **A/N: Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond! I took a lot of the advice given to me in the reviews and tried my best to incorporate them into the story.**

 **I figured that for this chapter I would try my best to add some character development between Minato and Yashima, though I feel like it's kind of rushed, or at least that's how it feels to me. However, this IS a harem, so I kind of have to.**

 **Well, you guys know the drill: Follow, favorite, and leave a review. If you'd like to see any other characters make an appearance, or want any sekirei to join Minato's flock, then mention it in your reviews.**

 **Have an awesome day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about slow update speeds! I was on vacation and had my friends laptop to use so that's how I was able to write and post the first two chapters, but my main PC is facing malfunctions and I can't use it to write, so I'm having to use my mother's computer for the time being. I apologize again for my inability to write, it's out of my control, but I'll try my hardest to update as often as possible!**

 **Also, I read some reviews regarding the new Sekirei you guys would like to see. I won't spoil anything (I can't even if I wanted to, considering I'm making this as I go), but I am listening and I will be doing what I can to please you!**

 **Thank you all so much for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond!**

 **0o0**

 **Chapter 3: Revelations and New Faces**

The morning sun shone through the window and past the cracked curtains next to Minato's bed. A draft in the room caused the curtain to silently move to the side, allowing the sun to gleam across Minato's face, and into his closed eyes.

He stirred gently, and his eyelids opened slowly.

 _'Morning… already?'_ He thought. _'It feels like I only slept for a few minutes…'_

He mentally shrugged the thoughts away, and attempted to rise from his warm bed before he noticed the weight resting on his chest. He looked down, and noticed Yashima had moved in her sleep. She was now wrapping her arms around his upper midsection, breathing softly, but she was close enough that he felt it.

He couldn't help but smile at the adorable scene in front of him. She let out a soft moan, and smiled through her sleep, gripping Minato tighter, and moving her left leg on top of him. It's almost as if she could read his mind and tell that he was planning on removing himself from the bed, and was trying to stop him.

Regardless, Minato knew there were more important things than lounging around with his lover, and, going against his feelings, he wriggled away from her grasp gently, making sure to make no sudden movements that would possibly wake her up. He saw the expression on her face go from a drowsy, yet cheery look to mildly displeased, until he pulled the comforter back over her, which caused her to put on a neutral visage. He sighed, nearly instantly regretting his decision to get up, but trudged on through his early morning drowsiness.

 **0o0**

The wind blew gently upon the top of an undisclosed building. The sounds of the waking citizens of Japan sending echoes of their activities across the city. The sun was slowly inching its way across the morning sky.

And there she sat. A young woman with light brown hair and cold eyes rested upon the rooftops, breathing heavily. She was only clad in a white button up shirt that was stained in blood. She thanked whatever gods there were that it wasn't hers. Her face still held a melancholy expression, contradictory to the unbelievable levels of fear running through her veins.

She quickly scanned the area, making sure that she was alone. The only thing on her mind was what felt like a reoccurring nightmare. The pained, terrified faces of scientists, the mortified expressions of the security guards… She couldn't get it out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to make the suffering stop. She didn't want to go back to that place. That horrible place that treated her like an object to be played with and stuck with strange needles holding dangerous liquids.

She was on the verge of breaking down into tears, but her icy visage never showed it. She held her composure. She knew that if she were to stop now, they would find her. And take her back.

With what appeared as a simple flick of her ankle and a small bend of her knee, she was off again, from building to building, rooftop to rooftop, soaring over death-defying drops at breakneck speeds. She wouldn't let them capture her again. She would escape, and be free to do as she pleased.

And she was willing to die trying.

 **0o0**

Minato rested on the couch next to Yashima. He let out a yawn that proved contagious, as Yahsima let one out as well.

He had ate a relatively small breakfast, consisting of a few slices of toast and a juice box. Yashima shared some toast with him, but her portions didn't prove to be as miniscule. At least by Minato's standards. She had downed the whole loaf of bread, and tried to hide her remaining hunger, but it was made obvious by a loud grumbling of her stomach, which also lead to the flaring of her cheeks.

"Hey, Yashima-chan, you're still hungry, right?" Minato asked, sucking the last of his apple juice through his straw.

Yashima answered quickly and to the point, with an enthusiastic "Yes!" She caught herself, and, while blushing, corrected herself with "I-I mean, yes, Minato-sama."

Minato smiled at the gesture of respect she was trying her hardest to give to him. He had always been talked down on by his peers, so getting a little respect felt nice. Though, the whole '-sama' thing felt a little strange to him. Her politeness, coupled with her adorable personality and looks would make even the strongest of men with the coldest of hearts melt at the mere presence of Yashima, and he was no exception.

"Well, I thought that, maybe later, we could… I-I mean, if you'd like, we could go out to eat?" He blushed at the thought. Technically, this would be considered a date by societies standards. Minato had never really had luck with the opposite gender in regards to lovers, due to his inability to assert himself and speak his mind, courtesy of his mother and sister.

Yashima, however, let out an overjoyed cry and practically tackled Minato, gripping his still somewhat injured torso. "Of course I would! It would be like a date, right? I would absolutely love it!"

Minato let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was incredibly happy that Yashima didn't see him as weird.

"Great! Well, where would you like to go?" He asked, smiling wide.

Yashima momentarily halted her cuddling and thought deeply. "Hmm… Oh! How about we g-"

Just then, the sound of the television switching on caught both of their attention. All that was on the screen was static, though. Minato checked under himself to make sure he hadn't just sat on the remote, but more questions popped up when he realized that it wasn't there. Instead, it was resting in its usual spot, on the coffee table. He reached over to grab it.

"Weird…" He muttered, reaching for the red power button with his thumb.

"WAIT! Don't touch that button!" A voice nearly erupted from the speakers on the small television.

"Huh?" Both Yashima and Minato were utterly baffled by the sudden phenomenon.

The static slowly faded, flickering a bit before showing the clear image of an older man clad in white, seemingly fiddling with something off-camera.

"Aaaannd… There! Perfect!" He exclaimed, satisfied with whatever he did.

"Ah, Sahashi Minato! Congratulations! You've just been placed into my master plan! The Sekirei Plan!" The strange man stated.

"How do you know my name? And who are you?" Minato inquired.

"Oh, how you hurt me!" The man made a few exaggerated movements before returning his attention to the couple watching. "My name is Minaka Hiroto! CEO of the legendary and mysterious MBI! Read a newspaper once in a while!"

Yashima gripped Minato tight as Minaka continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, you've been placed into the Sekirei Plan, courtesy of your fist winging! I see Number 84 is doing well! You're a pretty lucky guy, Minato-san. Not many Ashikabi have the luck to get such a strong specimen as their Sekirei."

A wry smile spread across Minaka's face. "Allow me to explain. Years ago, I discovered an alien ship that had crashed on a small island. Inside was incredibly high-tech equipment and a vast amount of knowledge beyond even my own comprehension. Along with the technology, inside the ship were actual living beings. These beings were early stages of what you now know as Sekirei. Yashima-kun, here, was one of them. And now, for reasons I will not disclose just yet, I have crafted a fantastic plan to pit the Sekirei and their Ashikabi against one another! The last standing Ashikabi will receive a magnificent prize, and the ability to stay with the Sekirei they have winged. Isn't it grand!?"

Minato, for the most part, knew the gist of the plan. He still hadn't come to terms with the fighting portion of the plan, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He just had to hope for the best. However, there was one thing that stood out from that explanation.

"Wait, you said 'the Sekirei they have winged.' Are you implying that Ashikabi can have more than one Sekirei?" Minato inquired.

"Correct, Minato-kun! You're very attentive!" Minaka let out a loud and obnoxious laugh.

This struck Minato hard. The whole reason that he was placed in the plan to begin with was because Yashima had started to 'react' to him, which led to him winging her upon her request. That confirmed Yashima's hypothesis of Sekirei and Ashikabi being soulmates attracted to one another by destiny alone. But that also led to another idea; Would there be more Sekirei that would react to him? He thought of the possibility of having not one, but multiple beautiful women bound to him by the Plan. The possibility was tantalizing in one hand, but terrifying in the other. His timidity would not make living with a whole gaggle of women in love with him easy. But that was a bridge to cross at a later date.

"Well… Is there anything else that I need to know?" Minato pushed his current thoughts away, and focused on taking in the new information that Minaka had for him.

"Hmm… Oh! One thing would be that this is only Phase 1 of my plan. Phase 2 will begin soon, but for right now, all the Sekirei have to do is find their Ashikabi. But be careful; there may be a few Sekirei who want to eliminate competition early on. I suggest you take this warning seriously." His face grew rather serious. "Along with that, I will have some men transport some extra clothes for Yashima to your home, along with a special MBI VIP credit card. This card is very special. It has an unlimited balance, but if I feel that you aren't buying things necessary to your own wellbeing, then I will cancel it. So keep it safe, and watch your spending. Aside from that, you now know all you need to know to survive the first phase. Good luck! You'll need it! HAHAHAHAHAHA-"

The television switched off during Minaka's maniacal laughter. Minato let out a heavy sigh.

"That's way too much to take in…" He groaned.

Yashima planted a small kiss on his cheek, a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Don't worry, Minato-sama. I'll protect you, and win this game! Then, we'll be together forever!" She hugged Minato tight, now blushing a bit heavier as Minato took on his own shade of pink. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around Yashima, pulling her close.

"Y-Yeah. Heh. And I'll try my hardest to take care of you in return." Minato said, running his hands through her hair lovingly.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Huh..? Who could that be?" Yashima raised her head and stared at the door. Minato rose from the couch and the loving embrace of Yashima. He opened the door and was greeted with a nod from a man dressed in a black suit with matching sunglasses.

"MBI. Here's your package." The tall man shoved a box into Minato's hands, and walked away without a word.

"A-Already? These guys mean business… Uh, thank you?" He called to the man, who displayed no sign of even recognizing Minato's words.

Minato closed the door, and set the package on the table, allowing Yashima to tear into it with ease. She removed a few gowns that were near replicas of the one she was wearing, along with ribbons, chokers, stockings and gloves that were all matching. Along with that, there was a set of simple silk pajamas, and a small container. She removed both, and opened the container, revealing a black card with the MBI logo pasted on the front of it.

"This must be that VIP card Minaka was talking about…" She handed it to Minato, feeling that since he was more experienced with life in the city, he would better understand how money works and would therefore know what to buy. While it was unlimited, they had to watch what they bought, so that way the MBI wouldn't cancel it.

While it was definitely a fantastic offer, one that he was almost unable to decline, he couldn't accept it.

"I'm sorry, Yashima. I have to make my own money, and I'll make sure to provide for you on my own. I just don't think I could accept help from that tyrant." Based on the whole talk he had with the CEO of MBI, he didn't very much like him. Why would he take these innocent people's right to live freely away from them, and use them for, what Minato assumed was, his own entertainment? It irked him to no end, and wouldn't rely on him for his own wellbeing.

"A-Are you sure, Minato?" Yashima blushed lightly. She understood why Minato wouldn't want to use it, but did he really care enough to do that much hard work? She blushed even darker at the thought. This caused her to realize the true character of Minato. Past his timidity, past his spinelessness, he was an incredibly caring and responsible man. He was willing to decline a credit card with an unlimited balance based on principles alone, and subject himself to grueling work just for her? This thought filled her with joy.

"Absolutely." Minato however thought about the gravity of the situation. "But… well, maybe… Logically speaking, it might be a good idea to keep it for emergencies." He wanted to act as rational and logical with this situation as possible. He tried his hardest to balance out his own pride as a man with possibilities of specific uses the VIP card could fulfill.

Yashima nodded in agreement, and decided to hold onto the literally priceless card. She tucked it away into a hidden pocket in her gown, and went to find a place for her clothing, while Minato got ready for his date with Yashima.

 **0o0**

 **Hours later, 10:00 PM**

The girl pulled the bloodied shirt closer to her body, dashing through the forest of the local park. She could feel her lungs scream for oxygen as she kept the breakneck pace, dodging trees left and right. Her legs begged for rest and threatened giving out, but she pushed them above and beyond their limit.

Finally, she reached a clearing. A brick walkway with a few stray benches, and lamps littering the opening, illuminating the area with their glow. She approached one of the benches, and sat down with a loud huff, still breathing quite heavily. She made sure to keep a sharp eye out for anyone that seemed out of place, but gathered herself and let her legs rest. She tried her hardest to push the thoughts about the laboratory out of her head, but they forced their way into her mind. Her legs subconsciously curled up to her chest, and she let her head rest against her knees. Her emotions had finally got the best of her, and her icy visage finally broke as she let a few stray tears fall.

And there she sat. Crying. Wondering what kind of cruel trick fate had decided to play on her. Why her? What did she do to deserve this? All of the hatred she faced in the laboratory, only fueling the scientists desire to cause her pain and push her to the brink of suffering. What purpose did her suffering serve? What would drive someone to take away a Sekirei's most important ambition in their lives? Why did they take her ability to have an Ashikabi away from her?

This continued. The lack of answers to her current questions led her mind to ask more. And with more questions, came more memories, and more memories, more questions. A vicious cycle of emotional destabilization and decay that would soon leave her a blank husk if it continued.

"Uh, hey, miss? Are you okay..?" A voice pierced the silence.

 **0o0**

 **A few hours earlier…**

Minato and Yashima had just finished their dinner with each other, after a bit of shopping on Yashima's part. They had gone to the local mall, and Minato decided that this would be one of the only times he could accept the use of the VIP card that she was given by the MBI. He felt that she had gone through a lot, and she should be able to treat herself. He still couldn't believe Yashima went a whole 5 courses until she was satisfied.

 _'Man…'_ He mentally sighed. _'Maybe I might have to put my pride to the side on this one, especially if it requires that much food for her to sustain herself. But I shouldn't be thinking about that right now. We're having fun. I should let it last.'_ He smiled to himself as Yashima led him into another store, softly but audibly humming a song. He was too caught up in his thoughts to realize that she had walked into a shop for women's undergarments. It only took a second for him to realize what this shop had in stock, as it was displayed everywhere. He blushed heavily, quickly grabbing his nose before blood gushed out of it. He could feel the stares of jealous people, both men and women alike, drilling their way into the back of his head.

"U-Uh, Yashima..?" He asked feebly.

"Hm? What's wrong, Minato-sama?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Do you mind being… A l-little quick in this shop..?" He blushed heavily.

Yashima's expression grew displeased. "Aww! But I wanted your opinion on some of their products!"

He gasped. "My w-w-what?"

Yashima quickly grabbed two sets of women's underwear and held them side-by-side in front of her, looking at Minato with her adorable cheery expression. "Which do you like more? White with frills, or dark and transparent?"

He had to grab on to one of the shelves due to the sudden light-headedness that ailed him. He quickly spew out an answer, stuttering heavily. "I-I-I… Uh… I like them b-b-both!" He tried his best to hide his embarrassment so he could further preserve her happiness.

"Hmm… Alright, then I'll get both!" Minato let out a deep sigh of relief as Yashima picked out a few more similar sets before placing them on the checkout counter. She used the black VIP card, and had her items placed in a bag that Minato volunteered to carry, along with her other things. Though, her recent actions brought something to his attention.

Yashima was breaking further and further out of her shell. She wasn't nearly as shy or self conscious as she used to be. It was almost like she was a different person.

As she was walking and window shopping with Minato following behind, Yashima was thinking the same thing. She, herself, was wondering why she was acting so loose. Normally, she would've not set foot in that previous shop due to what other people might think of her, regardless if it was a female-targeted shop. Why was she able to simply disregard others so easily? And then it hit her.

It was because of Minato.

The whole reason she was able to feel this free and loose was because she knew that Minato had accepted her. He didn't care that she was shy at first, and even helped her when she needed it, without thinking of what he'd get in return. It was because of his own selflessness that she was able to break down the barriers of timidity she faced. She sighed in relief, content with knowing that Minato was with her.

"Alright. I don't think I can do anymore shopping, Minato-sama. I don't want to drag you around any more than I need to." Yashima smiled brightly, bowing gently in thanks.

"It's okay, don't worry about it, Yashima-chan." He smiled back, adjusting his grip on the bags he was carrying.

"Wait. There was something else I wanted to show you." He added as they walked out of the main entrance.

"Oh?" She asked, interested in what Minato had in mind.

"There is this really pretty park down the road from here. If you'd like, we could walk around there for a bit. It's a really peaceful and pretty place. That, and I figured traffic on both the roads and sidewalks would be really congested at the time."

She lit up and nodded. The idea of spending more time with Minato was something she couldn't deny.

"Sure! It sounds like fun!" She replied.

Minato smiled and lead the way to the park, as the sun slowly started to set. The streetlights lit up simultaneously as they entered the forested park. The sound of their steps clicking against the brick walkway echoed throughout the thick mass of trees. Yashima clung onto Minato's left arm, pushing it between her breasts and resting her head on his shoulder as she matched his pace. They attempted small talk a few times, but mainly relished in each other's company. The simple fact that they were together and enjoying themselves was enough for them to be perfectly content with their current situation.

As they continued down the brick path, what appeared to be a person sitting on a bench came to view. They both noticed, but didn't pay much attention to them, until they got close enough to make out the person's features.

The person was definitely a female, based on the mounds on their chest that was pushing through their shirt. She had pretty light brown hair, and what seemed like a tattoo on her forehead. She was only wearing a white dress shirt, but it was tainted with an ugly red stain. The shade was too similar to blood to just be a coincidence.

Yashima recognized the design of the tattoo and spoke up quickly.

"Minato-sama… I'm pretty sure that girl is a Sekirei." She said, the tone of her voice turned incredibly serious.

"How can you tell?" He asked. He stopped walking, and made sure his voice was low enough so that the girl wouldn't notice them.

"That marking on her forehead… It's a Sekirei symbol. Like this." She slid the back of her gown down to reveal the same symbol on the nape of her neck.

"Wow… I never noticed. But why is it on her forehead?" He pulled her off to the side to better increase their chances of staying unnoticed.

"I've heard rumors of what some called a 'Scrapped Number.' I don't know the full story about it, but apparently, the Scrapped Number cannot be winged by an Ashikabi." Her voice took on a depressed tone. "If that's true, I don't know who would ever do such a thing to her. Taking away a Sekirei's ability to be with their Ashikabi is just… Horrible."

Minato nodded in agreement. "What should we do? We can't just leave her there. What if she's hurt?" Going against his better judgement, he wanted to take the chance of helping her. She looked incredibly depressed, which would make sense because of the story that was just woven by Yashima.

"I don't know… I don't have my hammer with me, but I've done a bit of unarmed combat practice, so if it comes down to it, I can at least defend you long enough for us to make an escape." Yashima explained.

"Alright. You wait here, and wait for a signal." He held out his hand, making the universal sign for 'Okay!' "When you see this, then you'll be able to come over. Until then, standby." He dropped the shopping bags out of sight, and gave Yashima a quick hug before walking towards the mysterious woman. Yashima wished him luck, and hid behind one of the many trees, keeping her eyes peeled for hostile movements.

Minato's mind began rushing, his adrenaline pumping. He had no idea what to expect. If horrible things were done to her by other humans, she might not be too fond of others. She could absolutely snap and kill him in an instant. If he said something wrong, she could run off, or kill him. If he made any movements that could be taken as aggressive, it could have the same outcome: Fleeing or death.

He swallowed hard, feeling a bead of sweat run down his forehead. He kept walking until he was only a few feet away. Letting out a shaken sigh, he gathers the courage to speak.

"Uh, hey, miss? Are you okay..?" He asked, trying his hardest to hide the fear in his voice.

 **0o0**

The voice was a low tenor, with sincerity behind it. The woman picked up her head, putting her visage back on. She didn't intend on showing any emotion to anyone. Not after what it got her into with the scientists. She looked at the man. His black hair shone in the light of the lamps, and he was dressed… Humbly. Nothing too flashy, nor incredibly expensive-looking. He wore blue jeans and a matching denim jacket that was buttoned up due to the climate of the area at this time. His facial features were sharp, but soft in some areas at the same time. By the standards of human men, he would be considered handsome. Very handsome.

But what really caught her attention was his eyes. Those soft, kind eyes that didn't glare at her with hatred as the scientists in the lab did. She had learned that if you wanted to find someone's true intentions, the first thing you should look for is their eyes. Certain traits about them could lead to certain emotions being displayed without their owners being able to hide them. Sometimes, the scientists that conducted tests on her would try and use comforting words to get her to cooperate. She always saw past their façade, but this man's eyes… they held a foreign emotion. One that she could only assume was either pity or genuine concern. This was incredibly strange to her… He couldn't be worried for her just out of the kindness of his heart.

Could he?

"I'm fine." Her monotone voice cracked a bit, due to lack of usage.

"Are you sure..? Your shirt is kinda… Well, messy, to say the least." He joked, letting out a pathetic attempt at a laugh.

"It's not mine." She replied simply.

"H-Huh? What do you mean?" The man tilted his head to the side.

"Both the shirt and the blood aren't mine. There is no need to worry about me." She let her head rest upon her knees. "For your own wellbeing, I suggest that you don't associate with me."

Silence. For what felt like hours, but turned out to only be a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of wind blowing gently by. The girl shivered, and pulled the shirt closer to her body.

Suddenly, she felt the warm roughness of a jacket wrap around her body. The body heat that was radiating from the denim practically soaked into her skin through the bloody shirt. She savored the feeling.

"Well, I'm more concerned with your wellbeing than mine at the moment." The man said in a matter-of-fact-ish tone. He was left in his white undershirt, goosebumps sprouting from his arms from the cool night breeze. He sat down next to her, and she inched away slightly, still worried about the man's true intentions. If only he had heeded her warnings… Then he wouldn't have to involve himself with a broken, worthless thing like her.

The man noticed her inching away from him, but he made no attempt to scoot closer. He respected her personal space. Something else she had never experienced.

"It's a beautiful night, huh?" He stated.

She said nothing, still incredibly confused by the actions of compassion shown by him to a complete stranger.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at small talk." He laughed at his own timidity. "Well, I guess I should properly introduce myself. My name is Minato. Sahashi Minato." He held out his hand, awaiting a handshake.

She recoiled from the sudden movement, but went with it. She slipped her hand out from underneath the warm jacket, and grasped his hand. They weren't very rough, but the gentleness that he demonstrated made up for it. Her smooth porcelain skin glided along his fingers, and she felt a bit of a shock spark at their touch. It almost felt as if a small flame set alight in her chest. It began to grow warm. The alien feeling in her chest combined with the sheer kindness this stranger- no, Minato, had shown her led to her cheeks developing a light pink dusting.

"… Akitsu." The girl replied.

 **0o0**

 **A/N: HOOO BOY did that chapter stress me out! I've been worrying about fixing my computer and everything for a while but now with fans relying on the condition of my hardware, it added to the stakes. But, I digress. I have finished the third chapter of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond! I hope you all enjoyed it! If you did, be sure to favorite and follow it, and don't forget to leave your reviews! PEACE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I hope you guys have been liking the story so far! I'm putting a lot of effort into it and it feels great when I get positive feedback from you guys!**

 **Keep in mind that I will be going back and rewriting certain parts of the story. Nothing to change the plot, though. More just grammatical errors and things I could do to better convey the story. This means breaking up character development dumps, adding descriptions, etc. So if you guys see anything that seems out of place, remember to include it in your review so I can go back and correct my mistakes!**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, I present to you Chapter 4 of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond!**

 **0o0**

 **Chapter 4: Melting a Frigid Heart**

Minato smiled as he made a shaking motion with his hand. The soft digits of the girl who revealed himself as Akitsu practically radiating with a cool aura, if that was even scientifically possible. The warmth in his own palm felt as if it was being sucked out of his skin.

"Akitsu… That's a pretty name." He tried his hardest to cheer her up, but Akitsu's stone-like expression held strong.

"Thank you." She replied. Minato couldn't help but let out an awkward chuckle at her bluntness.

 _'No-nonsense, huh?'_ He noted how similar Akitsu's personality was to his mother. She wasn't one for small talk, and if you had nothing interesting to say, it's best to not say it.

However, one big difference was that his mother would express her feelings in the form of anger. Minato couldn't recall the last time his mother wasn't at least a bit frustrated at something.

But with Akitsu, she always kept her expressions the same. She wouldn't drop her icy expression for anything, or at least that's what Minato could assume from their short time of knowing each other. Because of this, he had no way of telling what she was thinking.

"So, uh… What happened?" Minato inquired. "With the blood, I mean."

"I'd rather not talk about it." Akitsu replied, steadfast and stone-faced as ever.

"O-Oh, well okay." He scratched the back of his head nervously, not knowing where to go from here. Minato's bashfulness coupled with Akitsu's straight-forwardness made it hard for a decent conversation to start.

"Well, do you have any place to go?" He asked, his body letting out a shiver from the breeze.

"No." Akitsu stated plainly.

"Well… Maybe I could help." Minato replied.

Akitsu was caught off guard. She turned to stare into Minato's soft eyes. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden her body head flared, and the warmth of the aforementioned flame in her chest grew hotter, spreading its heat across her body.

"…" She was speechless.

Minato had already lent her his time and his personal belongings, and he was already willing to waste more of his time on her? But why? She was broken, useless trash. She didn't deserve it.

"I know of a few realtors in the area that offered to me before I rented out the apartment I have now, so maybe we could go talk to them." He suggested.

Akitsu was nearly speechless, and her icy visage was cracking.

"But… Why?" She asked.

"Why?" Minato leaned back, and genuinely thought about an answer. Why was he so ready to help someone he barely knew?

"Well, I was just raised that way, I guess. When I was a kid, I was always the one to help my sister out of situations she got herself into, so I guess that led to me becoming a Good Samaritan." He answered.

Akitsu considered the offer. She was still unsure about Minato's trustworthiness, but she figured that he had gone this far to help her. And he hadn't given her a reason to not trust him.

Yet, at least.

Akitsu nodded her head slightly, but enough to be noticed by Minato. "Alright… I accept your offer."

This caused Minato to smile wide. He was glad she gave him the opportunity to help.

"However," She continued. "If you cross me, I'll make sure you regret even being born." Her icy tone and expressionless face returned, and her words, while monotonous, carried its own weight in metaphorical venom.

Minato was taken aback, to say the least. He made a mental note to not test her word. While there weren't any features about her that proved menacing, he knew that she was a Sekirei. And Sekirei weren't ones to be toyed with.

He also knew that he didn't want to find out what her special abilities were the hard way.

He nodded quickly. "Of course, of course." He held his hands in front of him defensively.

"Well, I don't think any of the realtors would be available right now, so what do you say to spending the night at my apartment?" He asked, still somewhat shaken by the sudden threat Akitsu had made.

Akitsu reasoned the pros and cons of accepting his offer, and figured that if he was this frightened by verbal threats, he wasn't likely to act against her.

"Okay," She stood up from the bench, pulling her arms through the sleeves of Minato's jacket. "But remember what I said about betraying my trust."

Minato blushed heavily from the realization that Akitsu was completely naked from the waist down, and his jacket was just barely covering her… private areas. Noticing his prying eyes, she pulled the jacket farther down, and glared at him, using her eyes to do all of her speaking.

Minato snapped out of his short-lived trance, and turned his head. "A-Ah, sorry!"

He faced the direction in which Yashima was located, and held his hand up high above his head, forming the sign that meant it was okay for her to approach them.

Meanwhile, Yashima was on the verge of falling asleep in her warm jacket she had bought previously. She was about to doze off before she saw Minato's hand rise above his head with the sign.

Her eyes snapped back open, and she collected their things before making her way to Minato and the strange woman, who was now wearing his jacket. She felt a twinge of jealously cross her mind when she saw this, but disregarded it.

Akitsu noticed the newcomer, and quickly assumed a mock fighting stance after jumping behind Minato.

"It's alright, don't worry about her. She's with me." Minato informed her with a smile. Akitsu let her shoulders relax, but remained defensive.

Yashima finally reached Minato and Akitsu after a short jog, and bowed slightly before the stranger.

"Hello, miss. My name is Yashima. I am Sekirei Number 84. Pleased to meet you!" She exclaimed with a cheery expression.

"Sekirei?" Akitsu inquired. She turned to Minato before asking "Does that mean you're…"

Minato quickly finished for her. "Yep, I'm her Ashikabi. We were on our way back home and decided to take the scenic route through the park when we found you." Minato explained.

This only led her to come up with more questions on Minato and now Yashima's true intentions. Did he plan on taking her for his own flock? Did he just want to use her, as the scientists at MBI did? But in the end, that would give her a purpose, right? Isn't that what she wanted?

She felt her head grow light, and, considering the escape she made previously, she nearly face-planted onto the brick walkway from exhaustion. She winced, waiting for the impending impact.

But it never came.

Instead, she felt the cooled bare arms of Minato wrap around her, catching her as she fell.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" Surprised by Akitsu's sudden lack of strength, he acted purely on impulse when he lunged out to save her from the fall.

Akitsu could only stare into his eyes. Those gorgeous, kind eyes this caring man possessed beckoned her to lose herself in them. The heat in her chest was about to burn through her skin, and Minato felt it.

"Jeez, you're burning up! What happened?" Her cheeks flared red, and her breathing became heavy and labored. She found herself losing the battle with unconsciousness as tunnel vision set in. Everything around her grew dark, and the last thing she saw before she passed out, was the worried face of Minato uttering words that fell upon deaf ears. And then; darkness.

"Holy-! What's going on!? Yashima?" The girl in question knelt down beside Akitsu, and felt around for a pulse. Her index and middle fingers were met with blazingly hot flesh and a steady, but faint heartbeat.

"She's fine. But she won't be if we leave her out here." She took the girl into her arms gently. Minato was about to protest, but Yashima silenced him before he could.

"I know what's happening, but I can't explain it right now. I'll take her home. I don't mean to sound rude, but you would only slow me down." Minato nodded, figuring the wellbeing of Akitsu was more important than his own personal pride.

 _'Man, Yashima really could take charge when she needs to.'_ He thought.

"Alright. I'll meet you there. Be safe." Yahsima leaned forward and locked lips with Minato, letting her brilliant blue wings unfurl and spread behind her. Minato blushed heavily, but Yashima remained serious.

"I will. You be careful, too." And with that, Yashima bent her legs and crouched down, before shooting off into the night sky, leaving a dazed and confused Minato behind.

"What the…" He started, but decided against thinking too heavily about Yashima's athletic abilities.

 _'Let's just say it's a Sekirei thing and be done with it.'_

He grabbed their possessions before running out of the park towards their house, the cold wind of the night causing him to shudder, but it didn't slow him down in the slightest.

 **0o0**

A giggle could be heard from inside the confines of the black limousine. A young girl, by the looks of it around 16 or 17, laughed to herself. She wore an expensive white dress with a golden trim. She rested her gloved elbow against the fine leather armrest next to her, and rested her cheek against her fist.

"Interesting…" She muttered.

"Should we go after them, Mikogami-san?" A gruff voice was heard from the opposite side of the limo. An older man brandishing a traditional katana latched onto his hip was lounging in the seat opposite of the girl. "You've been looking at that girl for a long while. You just gonna let him take her away?"

"No… Let them go. I have no need for her anyway." She replied, her smug voice being muffled out slightly by the engine of the limo coming to life. "After all, he's gonna need all the Sekirei he can get his grubby hands on.

The man sighed. He had really been looking forward to a good run tonight, but seeing that chance of excitement taken from him brought down his mood.

"He's proving to be an interesting person in this little game of ours… He might be a worthy adversary." Mikogami grinned wide. "Tsama, take us home."

The limo driver nodded to the young girl from the front seat, and the black vehicle pulled from the curb and made its way down the street.

"If you say so…" The older man spoke, resting his eyes.

 **0o0**

Yashima was hopping from building to building, carrying the blazingly-hot Akitsu. She hoped that Minato didn't dislike the sudden kiss, but it was for the best. It allowed her the temporary benefit of higher agility, so it would be incredibly beneficial to the current situation. However, regardless of how platonic it was, it still made her blush at the thought of sharing a kiss with her beloved Minato.

The wind split past them as Yashima moved on. She deduced that Akitsu was in a stable condition, but to be safe, she wanted to get to the apartment as soon as possible. The moon's light shone down on them, doing little to illuminate her path, but it did provide an incredibly pretty sight. One that Yashima didn't have time to admire.

Then something came to her attention. She was carrying another Sekirei. Someone whom she was supposed to be fighting soon. She quickly came to a conclusion; it was because of Minato, and his good nature. If it made Minato happy to help those in need, she would help, too. Or at least try her best.

 **0o0**

 **A short time later, at Minato's apartment…**

Minato was resting on the couch, drinking from a juice box, running tonight's events back in his head while sipping on his straw.

Yashima was in another room with Akitsu. She was dipping a washcloth in cold water and wringing it out before folding and resting it upon the forehead of the still-unconscious Akitsu. The heat that was radiating from her body had gone down, but it was still there. Yahsima knew exactly what was causing this.

 _'She's reacting to Minato…'_ She thought, slightly jealous, but grateful for the possible help for the Sekirei Plan. This was both good news and bad news.

The good; if Minato were to wing her, he would have another Sekirei to use in the game, increasing their odds of survival. However, the possibility of Akitsu being the Scrapped Number still remained.

The bad; It would mean less time she would spend with Minato. She bit the tip of her thumb in displeasure. She didn't like the idea of having to share Minato. She loved his attention, and nearly melted whenever he praised her for doing something well, so the last thing she would want is him to stop being with him.

This was, however, contradicted with her knowledge of the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi. If she was reacting to Minato, then that would mean he is her destined soulmate, and, remembering how she almost had her own bond with her soulmate taken from her by force, she wouldn't want to stand in the way of their bond.

She was at a crossroads. She wanted to keep Minato's attention on her, but at the same time, she wanted Akitsu to be happy.

She then realized what she was deciding on, and mentally berated herself for her own selfishness.

 _'What am I thinking? Minato is bound to wing more Sekirei… Just from his power as an Ashikabi alone, he's destined to attract a lot. I shouldn't stand in the way of these things.'_

Yashima let out an exasperated sigh and decided that she would cross that bridge when she reached it. Right now, she needed to make sure that Akitsu's condition was stable.

Akitsu regained a bit of consciousness, and rolled over, now being in a state more akin to sleep than unconsciousness. Yashima, now satisfied with the work she has done regarding the aid of Akitsu, stood up and left her to rest.

Minato saw Yashima exit the room, looking somewhat tired from the day.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's stable, and she's now, what I would consider, more asleep than passed out." She stated, letting out another sigh. She walked over, and plopped on the couch, next to Minato, before resting her head on his shoulder. "You're such a nice guy, Minato-sama. I'm glad I reacted to you." She blushed a bit, but she meant what she said.

Minato, in turn, took on a light shade of pink, and wrapped his arm around the drowsy Yashima.

"Thank you, Yashima-chan. I might be stuck in this messed up game put on by a mad-man with a multi-billion dollar company, but I'm glad I've got you here with me." He stated, pulling her into a warm embrace.

She blushed hard. "You flatter me too much!" She nuzzled her cheek into his chest and let out a soft moan of satisfaction.

"You deserve it, though." Minato continued, chuckling a bit after. Yashima's effect on him didn't go unnoticed. His bashfulness when around her had all but disappeared. He felt safe to speak his mind when he was with her, and so he did.

And with that, they rested, with Yashima falling asleep on his chest and Minato relaxing inside her iron grip.

He tried to lie back and sleep, but he found himself unable to do so. He was still incredibly concerned with the condition of Akitsu, wondering what was causing this whole ordeal. Yashima must have forgotten to explain it before she fell asleep on his chest, but he didn't want to wake her just to ask a question. So, he put a pin in it, and cleared it from his mind.

 **0o0**

 **7 hours later, morning…**

Akitsu's eyes slowly opened. The light of the morning sun shining through the parted curtains. She found herself in a bed inside of a small room. It was incredibly bland, but there was something about it that made it… Nice. It made her feel at home in a completely foreign place.

She lifted the blanket off of her to see that she was now wearing different clothing. Her stolen and bloodied dress shirt and Minato's jacket replaced by baggy gym shorts and a plain white T-shirt. She looked around and attempted to gather her wits before standing, albeit a bit wobbly at first.

The reaction she faced the night before did a number on her. She still felt the warmth, but it felt as if the inside of her body was charred. She remembered one of the scientists speaking about reactions between Sekirei and Ashikabi, and how it was unhealthy for Sekirei to remain unwinged for extended periods of time while around the one which they were reacting to.

She clutched her warm chest, tears welling in her eyes.

'As long as I'm around him… I'll only suffer…' She thought. 'But he rescued me, took me in… I can't just leave without a word…'

She stopped herself, shaking her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her head.

'What am I thinking? He's probably just plotting something. His eyes didn't reveal it like I thought they would, but I know… He's not just some savior who helps for the pleasure of helping. He can't be.' She visualized his face again, and focused her mind on his eyes. Those warm grey orbs that seemed to stare into her soul, and offered only kindness.

'What do I do..?' She was on the verge of breaking down, but her physical expressions didn't show it. Instead, she shook it off, and walked towards the closed door. She grasped the metal handle, and twisted, surprised that it wasn't locked.

'I'd imagine that if he wanted to keep me in, he'd at least try to lock the door.' She glanced at the window that let in the only light in the room. 'Not that it would slow me down, but it means that he is either stupid… or he doesn't want to capture me.' She pulled the door ajar, and was greeted with the scene of the raven-haired man that was driving here insane snoozing on the couch with the girl who claimed to be Minato's Sekirei. Yashima was her name, right?

"Excuse me." She said, in her usual quiet, monotone voice.

No reaction.

She moved closer, feeling the heat in her chest grow with each step. She found it a bit hard to breathe again, and she felt her face heat up with a light blush.

"Excuse me, Minato-san?" She said, a bit louder. Still, however, no response. She kept the pace until she was standing right next to the couch and the sleeping Minato. Her breathing was now heavy enough to be audible.

'Goodness… If this heat keeps up…' She stared at the sleeping face of the handsome man that helped her.

'He looks so peaceful.' She thought. Almost on its own, she felt her body lower down, and her face inched its way closer and closer to Minato's. Her blush was a full red at this point, and the heat in her chest was almost unbearable, but she kept her composure. His mouth was slightly ajar, and she was close enough to feel his lukewarm breath brush against her cheek. Closer her mouth drew to his own.

Suddenly, Minato began to stir, and he open his eyes slowly. He was greeted with a blushing, but otherwise stone-faced Akitsu.

"Ah. You're awake." Her icy tone froze him to the bone when he realized how close they were.

"A-A-AKITSU!? What are you-" He stammered and stuttered.

Akitsu quickly placed her index finger perpendicular to his lips.

"Sh." She then motioned here head in the direction of the sleeping Yashima. Minato nodded slightly, and managed to get out from under her without waking her up. He let out a quiet, but obviously exasperated sigh.

"What was that all about?" He asked, his voice down to the octave of a whisper.

"Nothing." She replied simply. That's what she wanted to believe, but she couldn't ignore the searing heat in her body.

"Are you sure? Because it looked like you were pretty close to… Uh…" Minato blushed heavily at the thought. "K-Kissing me."

"You must be mistaken." Was here quick, steadfast reply, her visage holding strong.

"Okay, if you say so…" He let out another sigh. "Well, how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Well, would you like me to get you anyth-"

"No."

An unbelievably awkward silence ensued, and the two just stared at one another, with Minato having no idea what to say, and Akitsu ready to curve any question he had for her.

"Alright, if you say so." He proceeded towards the bathroom. "If you'd like, I can get you a bath running." He said.

"That would be most pleasant." Came her stone-faced reply. She then followed him into the bathroom swiftly and silently.

"Alright, I'll get on it. While you're in the shower, I could prepare you so-"

He was cut off by the sight of Akitsu stripping in front of him.

"WHOA, hold on!" He gripped his nose quickly, before the rush of blood came spewing out, and stopped her just in time to protect what modesty she had remaining. She had already taken off her shirt, and was holding it in front of her… rather ample bosom.

"Hm?" She stopped her actions momentarily. "What seems to be the problem?"

"You can't just strip in front of me!" He turned his head away, avoiding Akitsu's stare. If he wasn't blushing before, he definitely was now.

"Why not?" She asked, resuming her stripping.

"Because it's not modest! You can't just go around exposing yourself like that, it's indecent!" He was trapped in the bathroom. There was no other exit besides the one the buxom woman had blockaded with her near naked body, and he didn't want to get any closer, in fear there would be a misunderstanding.

 _'If Yashima walks in now, I'm done for! Who knows how she'll react!_ ' He thought to himself, looking for a way to escape.

"I've heard that exposing oneself like I am is pleasing to human males." She countered.

Well, one thing of Minato's was agreeing with that statement, but he disregarded that.

"Yeah, but not in broad daylight! Just please, put your clothes back on until I leave!" Minato turned his body around, and stared at the tiling of the bathroom floor, waiting for Akitsu to clothe herself.

Instead, he heard the light, bare-foot footsteps Akitsu made as she approached Minato from behind.

"There is, however, something I would like to talk with you about." Akitsu felt the heat in her chest rise from being in close proximity to Minato. "Something very serious."

Minato gathered himself, and pushed away the feelings of embarrassment for a serious attitude, though he remained stationary.

"W-What is it?" He asked, hesitantly.

 _'I have to ask him. Now.'_ Akitsu thought to herself. _'If I don't tell him now, it will just be harder to explain it to him now. But his helping nature might spell suffering for us both.'_

She opened her mouth to speak, hesitating a bit, before finally saying it.

"I think I am reacting to you, Minato-san."

Minato recoiled in his seated position.

"What?" He asked, turning himself around to see that Akitsu had put her T-shirt back on, and her face was as serious as ever.

"Every time I am around you, I get this burning feeling in my chest. As if I am burning from the inside out. This is a telltale sign of a Sekirei's reaction to their Ashikabi. However…" She tilted her head down, and closed her eyes. Minato began assuming the worst.

"I am unable to be winged." She finally spoke.

The realization hit Minato like a truck.

'That would explain her feverish temperature last night.' He thought. 'It would also explain her willingness to come along with a complete stranger like myself. How could I be so dense as to not realize it earlier?' He mentally berated himself for his own ignorance, before speaking again.

"So… you're the Scrapped Number?" He asked, sitting up and paying Akitsu full attention.

"Yes. The scientists at MBI wanted to dissect me. They chose me as a specimen for their studies. And as a result of the nonstop testing and experimentation…" She let a small tear fall. "… I am unable to be winged."

Minato couldn't believe what he was hearing.

 _'I knew the MBI was bad… but I didn't think they would stoop to such low levels.'_ As a result of his inability to stand by when someone is in need of his help, he spoke up.

"Do you know if there is anything I can do?" He asked, concern filling his voice.

"I deeply appreciate your concern," She stated with a heavy heart. "But I don't know of any way that I could curve the things they've done to my body."

The room fell silent, with Akitsu wondering what Minato's next course of action would be. Minato fell into deep thought.

"Well… How do you know you are unable to be winged?"

Akitsu thought long and hard about the question, but came up with nothing concrete.

"All I remember is the scientists saying something along the lines of 'unwingable' when referring to me. At the time that I caught their conversation, I was under the influence of incredibly strong drugs, so I can't be sure." Her expression was as cold as ever, and she dried the tear that had previously run down her cheek. "But they would have no reason to lie. I don't know of any situation where they would have to. That, coupled with the experiments they had conducted on me, I wouldn't doubt the possibility."

Minato fell into deep thought again. He wanted to find a way to help, but he was too far in the dark. He had none of the scientists to talk to, if he even resorted going to the MBI for help in the first place, and he didn't have extensive knowledge on Sekirei genetics and what makes them tick, so there was nothing he could do. Nothing, except for one thing…

"Have you attempted to test it?" He asked, his body giving off an aura of determination.

"No. You're the first person that I've found whom I reacted to." She replied.

Minato swallowed hard, and gathered his courage before asking, "Would you like to try?"

Akitsu was surprised by the suddenness of his request, but she gladly accepted with a quick, expressionless nod. A light pink glow painted her cheeks.

"But before we do, I would like to ask you a question."

"What is it, Akitsu-san? I'm all ears." He replied with a caring tone.

"Why? Why have you gone to such extents to help me, even though you don't know me? First you take me into your home without even knowing who I am, then you try helping me with my own personal problems… Why do you want to help such useless trash as I?" Her expression showed no emotion, but her eyes were dancing with wonder. And Minato noticed.

"Well, like I said, I'm a Good Samaritan, right?" He laughed.

"No. A Good Samaritan helps those only once. You have helped me many times, and have shown no sign of stopping." She exclaimed. "To me… You're a savior. And I can't thank you enough."

Minato blushed hard.

 _'Where is this all coming from? Is this because she's reacting to me? Because I truly am her Ashikabi? But what if she actually can't be winged? What then?'_ Worst-case-scenarios began looping over and over in his head, causing his bashfulness to return.

"Thank you, Akitsu-san." Minato felt the urge to hug her, and finally, he let his urges take control. He reached out, and brought Akitsu into a loving embrace.

Akitsu was shocked by the sudden gesture, but accepted it, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The burning in her chest was becoming unbearable. She couldn't hold here façade any longer, and the emotions she had kept bottled up inside her were let out. She gripped him tight, and silently wept, hot tears running down her face.

 _'He's the first person… to ever show me true compassion… true kindness.'_ She ran their first meeting back in her mind. His dumb, awkward grin warming her up better than his jacket ever could. _'How did I not realize it sooner? I… I'm… In love… With him… And I'll spend the rest of time with him. I'll make sure of it.'_

Minato simply held her close, doing his best to comfort her in her time of need. The feeling of her body jolting with each silent sob rattling his body and his willpower. Yet, he was glad to have helped her. He thought back on how Akitsu was so quiet and level-headed, albeit sometimes hostile. And here she was, letting her feelings flow free. He ran his hand along her back in circles as she dug into the crook of his neck with her head.

When Akitsu pulled away, her stone-like expression disappeared, and was left with an expression of want. Of desire. Her eyes met with Minato's and, almost as if he could read her mind, they closed the distance, locking each other's lips in a deep kiss.

The experience was foreign for both of them. Akitsu had never experienced a winging before, but she knew this wasn't how it was supposed to play out. She felt a small headache form from their contact, which exploded into a full migraine in what felt like seconds. Her ears began ringing, and she let out a wince from the pain.

Minato noted how different it was to kiss Akitsu from when he winged Yahsima. The best way to explain it was a string of an unnamed instrument being plucked, and it rang out, loud and true. But with Akitsu, it fell dull. It felt like what he imagined a normal kiss would feel like, considering Yashima was the one who stole his first and he hadn't been with anyone aside from her.

But he noticed… something. It felt like there was a piece of a puzzle, desperately trying to fit into the grand picture, but not being able to form the correct shape to lock into place. He was on the verge of giving up, before he tried one last time, putting all of his concentration into the puzzle piece.

Akitsu felt him pull away as her migraine rang in her skull, but suddenly deepen it, as they traded saliva and allowed one another to explore each other's mouths with their tongues.

And just like that, the piece finally clicked into place. They both felt it.

'Wha..!' Akitsu couldn't think straight. All she could think about was the face of her destined Ashikabi, determination plastered on his face. She was on the verge of losing consciousness once again, from the sheer pain, but then…

Nothing.

Just as quickly as it came, the splitting headache faded, as with the pain. She felt something inside her fall into place.

And with that, the heat inside her chest exploded in intensity. She felt it nearly boil her blood, before it was suddenly cool. She felt the crest on her forehead fill with the fire, before stray luminescent white feathers began springing forth out of it, one by one.

Akitsu recoiled back, breaking away from the kiss. Minato looked on in fascination.

 _'Holy hell… Did it work..?'_ He thought. There was no way for him to tell. All he could do was sit back and watch. And hope for the best.

Akitsu felt the fire of her crest rage, before the feathers dissipated slowly, along with the crest. She sat, in a trance, trying to recover from the ordeal.

Out of nowhere, magnificent white wings burst out of her back as she let out a cry of surprise mixed with ecstasy. The warmth that was once in her body moved to her wings, which radiated in it, before it was gone. The room made a sudden drop in temperature, falling to a sub-zero level of cold. The room quickly gathered a thin layer of ice, and Akitsu fell forward, only to be caught by the ever-vigilant Minato.

Akitsu's wings pulsated, and slowly dissipated as the Sekirei Crest relocated itself from Akitsu's forehead to between her shoulder blades.

"Akitsu! Are you-!" Minato was silenced before he could finish by a smiling Akitsu. She reached up and cupped Minato's left cheek in her hand.

"It… It worked… Minato-sama." She said, her smile growing wider with each word.

Minato couldn't help but spread his mouth into his signature goofy grin, which only made Akitsu all the happier.

 _'Finally…'_ She started in her head, and finished out loud. "I've found you, my Ashikabi."

"So I guess the rumors weren't true, huh?" He chuckled as he helped the woozy Akitsu to her feet.

"I could only assume." Her stone-like expression returned, but not without a small grin. "Thank you, Minato-sama."

She cupped his cheek in her hand once again, and pulled him in for a fiery kiss. Minato couldn't do much aside from hang on for dear life.

Akitsu on the other hand was in heaven. Not only was she able to be winged, proving those horrible scientists wrong, but she could now relish in the loving embrace of her new Ashikabi.

Minato's bedroom door burst open, and Yashima ran in, with her giant hammer in tow.

"I heard screaming! What's going o-" She gasped loud at the sight of the kissing Akitsu and Minato.

Minato blushed heavily, realizing the situation he was just caught in. There he was, making out with a girl he just met the day before, in front of his soulmate. He quickly held his hands up in defense.

"Y-Yashima! It's not what you think!" He cried.

Yashima blushed with as much, if not, more strength than Minato had, and stammered over her words.

"I-I… I'm…" She let the hammer fall outside the room. "I'M SORRY FOR INTRUDING!"

Yashima quickly ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Wait!" Minato cried, rushing after her.

And for the very first time in what felt like ages…

Akitsu giggled, albeit a little bit.

 **0o0**

 **And there you go! Chapter 4 done!**

 **I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I tried my hardest to go in depth with Akitsu's story, and I spent a lot of time coming up with a special winging ceremony just for her. I'm glad I finished it, and I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **For those of you wondering, yes, there will be fighting later on down the road, but as mentioned previously, they are still currently only in the first phase. If you guys really are hoping for a good fight soon, I could see about doing something with the Lightning Twins, Hikari and Hibiki, but that's up to you guys.**

 **Sorry I was a bit slow with this one. I had to take my dog to the vet, and it turns out there is a high chance that he's developing lymphoma, so that's been taking priority for a while.**

 **As per usual, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as are favorites and follows!**

 **If you see anything along the lines of grammatical errors, places where I should break, etc., please remind me in your review! I had to rush this to make time for my studies IRL, so I didn't have time for a real review of my work.**

 **THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED: THE ONLY CHANGE MADE IS THAT MIKOGAMI IS NOW FEMALE. IT HAS BEEN REQUESTED. Chapter 7 coming soon!**

 **Later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Not a whole lot to talk about this time. I guess I'll let you get right into the story!**

 **Welcome to chapter 5 of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond!**

 **0o0**

 **Chapter 5: Three's a Crowd**

Minato sat on the couch, and sipped some warm tea from his favorite mug. He sighed heavily, somewhat exhausted, even though it was still early in the morning. Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed?

Or maybe it was that there were two beautiful women fighting over his attention? That one made a bit more sense.

Yashima occupied his left side, resting her head on his shoulder with a pout. Akitsu was on his right, holding his arm between her breasts, with her expression having returned to her icy stare.

Yahsima let out a displeased grunt, and pulled him to her side. Akitsu noticed, and without making a sound, retaliated with a pull of her own, effectively turning Minato into a makeshift rope for a mock game of Tug of War.

"Please… Let me go…" He said pathetically, with a small whine.

"No." They both said simultaneously, with Yashima putting a bit more enthusiasm into her reply.

The two Sekirei glared at one another, with a helpless Minato in between them, facing the worst of their feud. Bolts of lightning seemed to collide with their gaze. Minato could do nothing aside from go with the flow, seeing as how neither of them were willing to let him go, at the risk of the other being able to stay.

"Why are you guys doing this anyway..?" He groaned.

"I can't accept that she just ran into our lives and winged you without asking me for permission!" Yashima replied. "Not only is it dirty, but it's incredibly rude to the Sekirei that was winged first!"

However, Akitsu held her steel gaze, showing no emotion.

"As I recall from what Minato had told me about his time as an Ashikabi, it was you who left him to take a beating from someone you couldn't even manage to fight off on your own, despite your much greater physical abilities." She retorted, showing no signs of giving mercy.

"Oh, yeah? And you were just a stray that Minato felt pity for!" Fire raged in their eyes as they spat insults back and forth.

 _'I can't believe this girl! First, she barges into me and Minato's lives unannounced, then she takes refuge in our home, and after all of that, she… She..! K-Kisses him!? Behind my back!?'_ She let out a low growl, gripping Minato's arm even tighter. She blushed at the thought of their own kiss that they shared. How warm and safe it made her feel. _'I won't sit idly by while this girl defiles my Ashikabi! Not by a long shot!'_

Akitsu's own eyes burned with a passion, as she glared at the girl who dare stand in the way of her love for Minato.

 _'She thinks she just gets to have him all to herself, eh? Not on my watch.'_ She lets out her own growl.

"Please… Stop fighting! I have things I need to do today!" Minato whined. He had so much on his plate, he couldn't even think of where to begin his errands! Since Akitsu had been winged by him, he no longer had to worry about finding a realtor for her own place, seeing as how she would now be living with him. He had to go shopping for clothes for her, and face twice the embarrassment than he dealt with when he did the same with Yashima. Judging by Akitsu's lack of care for modesty, it wouldn't be fun when they got to the more… 'Delicate' articles of clothing.

After that, he had to go pay his rent, then explain to his landlord why he had two beautiful girls suddenly living with him. Later on, he-

"Oh, NO!" Minato exclaimed. "My landlord said that I can't have anyone else living with me in this apartment! He's gonna kick us out if he finds you two here!"

His hands moved to his head, going against the iron grips the two girls were using on his arms.

"What am I gonna do!?" He cried.

As if on cue, there was a strange knock on the door.

 _'Oh NO! Please, don't let that be the landlord!'_ His mind flooded with anxiety.

The two girls ceased their feud for the moment, and realized that Minato's current situation was more important. However, the two girls had totally different ideas on how to go about dealing with his landlord.

"Should we run and hide?" Yashima whispered to Minato, getting no response from his panicked state.

Akitsu held out her arm and froze the vapor around it to form a large ice lance.

"Shall I eliminate him?" She asked, her monotone voice ironically chilling Minato to the bone.

"No, and definitely not!" He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to face him. There's nothing I can do." He let out a heavy sigh, and slowly walked towards the door.

"Ey, Sahashi! I heard voices in there! You had better not let anyone live in here besides yourself, or you're outta here!" A gruff, irritated voice boomed from the other side of his front door.

Yashima stared at the floor, greatly disappointed in herself.

 _'Did we just get Minato-sama kicked out..?'_ She thought, worried. _'What are we going to do?'_

Akitsu kept a level head, and simply stared at Minato's hunched form, sensing the guilt radiating from his aura. She felt a twinge of guilt, before pushing it off.

 _'It can't be helped, I suppose. It was going to happen sooner or later.'_ She concluded.

Minato finally reached the door, and unlocked it, before turning the handle. He pulled the door open, and cowered from the gaze of his now furious landlord.

The small, naturally hunched man stared at him, then averted his eyes to the two women standing farther back into the apartment, a look of guilt struck across one of their faces, while the other held their neutrality strong.

He let out an annoyed grumble, and then shouted at the youth before him.

"I expect you out of here by the end of the week! Any longer, and this is going to court for breaching your contract!" The old man hollered.

"Can I at least expla-" Minato began.

"No exceptions!" His landlord yelled. He stomped angrily away from the door, his hands behind his back as he made his way down the stairs, and out of sight.

"Damn…" Minato uttered, before closing the door slowly. He turned and looked at the two beautiful women before him. Yashima seemed to be on the verge of tears, while Akitsu simply stared.

"I guess there isn't anything we can do now…" He said. "Better start looking for a new place."

He ran his shaky hand through his raven-colored hair. His body was wracked with nervousness, and his cognitive functions seemed to slightly deteriorate.

Yashima sniffled a bit. "We got you kicked out of your home… Minato-sama, I-" She was about to fall to her knees and beg for forgiveness, but Minato hushed her with a gentle hug.

She gasped a bit, but relaxed in his embrace. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding back tears.

"Don't worry about it, Yashima-chan. It was going to bound to happen anyway." He explained.

 _'He's right…'_ She thought. _'There was no way he was going to successfully hide two, and maybe more Sekirei in this tiny apartment down the road… I guess this is for the best.'_

Minato released her from the embrace, and planted a kiss on her forehead, cheering her up nearly instantly.

"At least we've got one another." He smiled past the guilt he felt for getting them involved in this situation.

"Ahem." Akitsu coughed slightly, more to gain Minato's attention than to clear her throat. He blushed, and turned to her.

"Would you like a hug too, Akitsu-chan?" He asked with sincerity as he felt a blush spread across his face.

 _'I never thought two girls would be fighting over me in my life… This is definitely something new. I'd probably have to get used to it quickly.'_

Akitsu shook her head, but began walking towards him. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but was halted as she caught him in a passionate kiss, right in front of Yashima. Minato was surprised, but closed his eyes as Akitsu prodded his mouth with her tongue, begging for entry. She kept her eyes open, and turned them to the flushed Yashima, who was stumbling over her own words.

"H-H-Hey! Stop being lewd, Akitsu-san!" She cried, deeply embarrassed.

Akitsu regretfully broke the kiss, and wiped her mouth of the excess saliva. Minato let out an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head. She stared into his eyes, becoming lost in them, as she pulled him close and pushed her breasts against his chest, boasting her dominance in the area of cup size between the two competing Sekirei.

"My apologies. It seems as if I couldn't help myself." She stated plainly.

"Like hell you couldn't!" Yashima shot back.

Akitsu turned to Yashima, and the lightening between their eyes sparked again. Minato let out a deep sigh, still scratching his head nervously.

 **0o0**

 **Somewhere in the city…**

A girl, huffing and puffing as she ran, rounded a corner and turned down an alleyway. She ran as fast as she could, feeling her legs push her off the ground in what would be considered leaps and bounds by humans. It was almost as if they were on autopilot, carrying her wherever they wanted. She slowed down, and checked her surroundings. It appeared that she had lost them.

She was wearing a white gi with red string decorating it. It clutched against her form, making her rather ample bosom protrude from it. She was also wearing a short red skirt, mid-calf brown boots, and upper thigh-high white stockings. Her hair was a chestnut brown color that was chin length around her head and framed her face nearly perfectly. She had a single strand of hair that stuck out and hung down like an antenna, and a ponytail that dropped down to her waist.

 _'Who were those girls? Why were they chasing Musubi?'_ She thought as she came to a stop, resting her upper body on her knees and sucking in as much air as she could, in case she needed to run again. _'They seemed really strong! Musubi really wanted to fight them, but… She still has to find her Ashikabi.'_

Out of seemingly nowhere, footsteps and more huffing was heard approaching her from behind. The girl turned to look at who it was, and gasped.

One had light pink hair, with a black kimono-type shirt along with red, fingerless gloves. She was obviously out of breath, and visibly infuriated by the first girl's attempt at escaping them.

"Why… Can't you… Just stay still!" She shouted, barely able to utter the words due to the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

The other girl that was chasing her with the pinkette had silver hair, and had on similar clothing. Two major differences were the bandages that covered her body underneath the black kimono, and the large, menacing steel claws that she wore.

"You really know how to make people angry, Number 88." The silver haired woman said with a slight smirk.

"Musubi is very sorry," The one addressed as Number 88 said, speaking in a strange third-person perspective. "But she is unable to fight you right now. She hasn't found her Ashikabi yet."

The two black-clad pursuers gave her a surprised look.

 _'We just attempted to punish her, and chased her for a few miles, so why is she being so nice?'_ The pink haired girl questioned.

"Whatever." She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, and focused on the task at hand. "We aren't here to fight you, we're here to punish you." A wry smile spread across the pinkette's face.

The clawed girl simply sat upon her perch, silently staring down the well-endowed Number 88. She noticed the girls' unnaturally large bust size, and looked at her own.

 _'Small…'_ She mentally said to herself.

Musubi simply tilted her head to the side in confusion, and placed a finger on her chin.

"Did Musubi do something wrong?" She asked.

The pinkette nearly exploded, completely exhausted and agitated from the previous chase.

"OF COURSE YOU DID! OTHERWISE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE CHASED YOU ALL ACROSS TOKYO FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

The silver haired girl winced a bit.

"Keep your voice down, Benitsubasa. Geez…" She sighed.

"Shut it, Haihane. You haven't been much help at all." The one now referred to as Benitsubasa retorted.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Haihane leaped from her perch, and glared at Musubi with her near demonic sanpaku eyes. She flared her claws, and entered a battle stance.

"What did Musubi do wrong?" She asked.

Benitsubasa took over and answered for her, entering her own battle stance.

"You're not allowed to go around and harass people because you think everyone is your Ashikabi. All you've been doing for the past week is going from person to person, spreading rumors about the MBI and risking the Sekirei Plan being found out by the public." She stated.

Musubi held her arms in front of her chest, and her gloved-fists in front of her mouth as she whimpered.

"O-Oh. Musubi's sorry!" She said with the most adorable puppy-dog eyes the other two had ever set eyes on.

Regardless of this, Benitsubasa lunged forward, fist bowed up and ready for attack.

"Oh, trust me, you will be!" She threw her fist at Musubi's abdomen. Her target narrowly avoided the blow by moving out of the way just before it made contact. Musubi twisted her body on her heel, and attempted to deliver a devastating round-house kick, but it was caught mid-flight towards Benitsubasa's face.

"You just don't give up, do you? You're a resilient little twit, I'll give you that." She exclaimed as she gritted her teeth and backed away. "Haihane!"

The silver-haired Sekirei nodded, and quickly tagged into the fight, slashing her claws out at Musubi in an attempt to back her off of Benitsubasa. Haihane's specialty was crowd control, and she was great at it. Her claws always either proved incredibly useful in physical combat, or via mental combat, by psyching out any enemy that crossed her path. However, unfortunately for her, Musubi wasn't in the least scared.

If anything, she was excited for this fight. Since the day she was released into Tokyo to find her Ashikabi, she had been hoping and praying for another Sekirei to get cocky enough to take her on, thinking that she would be easily to eliminate right off the bat.

Musubi charged in, a smile plastered on her face and determination set a fire ablaze in her eyes. She dodged slash by slash, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp steel claws flying towards her.

"Damn. She's fast!" Haihane shouted, getting worked up out of her comfort zone. This one was strong. She wished the Discipline Squad had an Ashikabi, or was at least fully formed.

Benitsubasa and Haihane were hand-picked for a spot in the MBI's Discipline Squad. The main goal of this branch of Sekirei enforcers was to do just that: enforce. The rules of the game were not meant to be broken, but it was bound to happen if Minaka simply let the Sekirei run rampant across Tokyo, desperately fighting one another off and trying to find an Ashikabi at the same time.

The plan was to gather some of the strongest Sekirei to fight in the Squad, but it didn't necessarily work out. The man who Minaka planned on making the Ashikabi of the Squad had quit his job before the Plan was put in action, in fear that his life would be put at risk, and there could be no delays, so he released them regardless of the status of the Squad.

There were generations of the Squad before Benitsubasa and Haihane, though they had never heard who the members were specifically, or what the Squad's purpose was before the Plan. They were the latest, along with another by the name of Karasuba, but she had yet to introduce herself.

Benitsubasa flew in with a kick to Musubi's abdomen while she was focused on dodging Haihane's attacks. This earned her a cry of pain, but then a grunt as Benitsubasa was hoisted into the air by Musubi. She had grabbed the pinkette's leg after the kick, and spun around before flinging her into a nearby wall.

Benitsubasa let out a pained cry, before slumping against the wall she landed on.

"Don't hold back!" She shouted, eerily cheery, as she unleashed a barrage of fists in Haihane's direction.

Haihane bobbed and weaved, barely managing to stay unscathed from the torrent of punches that were just thrown at her. The chase from before had left her exhausted, and Benitsubasa appeared to be unconscious. She was outmatched, and she knew it.

 _'Damn… Why couldn't we get an Ashikabi sooner? Or at least have Karasuba to back us up.'_ She jumped back towards Benitsubasa, and gathered her up, throwing her over her shoulder. She took extra care to not slice into her flesh with the claws she wore.

"This isn't over, Tit-zilla." She chuckled at her own bad joke, and jumped to the top of a nearby building, barely managing to escape with Benitsubasa and her own life intact.

"Aww! But Musubi was just getting heated!" The brunette pouted at the sudden halt to her fun, but quickly recovered. "Musubi wasn't able to land many hits… She needs to grow stronger! And to find her Ashikabi!" She clutched her gloved fist, and practically boiled over with determination and bouncing off the walls with energy. She launched herself into the air, and stood at the edge of a building, before taking off once again, this time a bit slower.

Haihane had found a place to watch from afar without being seen. She watched the powerful brunette skip away from rooftop to rooftop, as if nothing had just happened.

"She's strong. I'll have to watch out for her." She looked back as Benitsubasa stirred from her unconsciousness. "You okay, washboard?"

"H-Huh..? What happened..?" The pinkette asked, looking and sounding incredibly dazed.

"You got your ass handed to you by Mount Massive Tits back there." She once again chuckled at her own joke. "Heh… Mount Massive… Heheh…"

"Oh, shut it! It's not like you did any better! And put me down!" Haihane did as she was told, and let the flustered girl down. "God, the nerve of some people!"

"You sound like an old woman… Lighten up. We didn't die, at least." Contrary to her looks and personality, Haihane proved to be quite the optimist at times.

"But my pride did! Not only did her measurements beat me by a mile, but her combat prowess did as well! You'd think with jugs that huge, it would slow her down." The angry Benitsubasa exclaimed.

Haihane chuckled under her breath, but it quickly turned into loud cackling, causing her to roll on the ground, teary eyed. Benitsubasa flushed from embarrassment.

"SHUT IT, ALRIGHT!?" But the cackling continued. She ignored Haihane, and turned to look where the firt-type Sekirei Musubi had run off to.

 _'God… I feel bad for whoever turns out to be that girls Ashikabi.'_ She thought.

 **0o0**

 **Meanwhile…**

Minato continued down the sidewalk with Yashima and Akitsu in tow. He hung his head low, looking incredibly depressed.

"We've visited nearly every realtor in our area… Not one of them even considered us…" He sighed heavily. Yashima grabbed hold of his hand, and laced her fingers with his.

"Don't worry, Minato-sama. I'm sure it'll work out for us. It has to." She smiled wide, attempting to cheer him up. She used her other arm to hoist her massive hammer over her shoulder. Minato sighed at the sight, but Yashima insisted that it was best for his own personal safety. He just hoped the façade of it being a cosplay item held, because there would be no other way that Minato could think of explaining how a girl her size could even think to hold the gigantic hunk of steel.

Akitsu wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her breasts into his back, trying her hardest to be as comforting as possible. This earned her a heavy blush and an averted gaze due to embarrassment.

"We've only visited 23 realtors. There have to be more in this huge city." The ice Sekirei explained.

The two Sekirei's combined efforts succeeded, and Minato quickly grew a wide smile, much to their relief.

"Yeah. You two are right. If there's a will, there's a way, right?" He was sounding much more enthusiastic now that his Sekirei were there to comfort him. They both nodded, giving simultaneous sounds of approval as they continued on their way.

They passed by a lamppost with many papers attached to it. Something caught Yashima's eye, and she halted the group to take a quick look at it.

"Hold on… What's this?" She grabbed one of the flyers from the heap of papers attached to the post. "Maison Izumo… Rooms for rent… Looking for tenants! Look, Minato! We haven't been here yet!"

Minato took the paper from her hand and read it through. His face lit up with excitement.

 _'They're asking for such a low price! This is either too good to be true, or the best stroke of luck I've ever had!'_ He visualized what the flyer had described. An older generation household. He seemed drawn to it because of the traditional authenticity.

"Great find, Yashima! Let's head over there right now!" The two girls nodded as they made their way to the address listed on the flyer, Yashima feeling extra pleased from the praise Minato had shown her.

"LOOK OUT!" A strange voice called out. Minato and the girls looked around, checking the perimeter for any threat to them. Suddenly, a heavy force collided with Minato head-on.

From above.

"AHH!" He shouted as the strange object connected with his body. He was instantly knocked off his feet, and onto his back, wincing in pain.

"Ow… Owowow… What the…" He made an attempt to lift himself up off the ground, closing one eye due to the sudden pain he had experienced.

When he rose, he felt the weight of… Whatever it was holding him down. He looked down, and was met with the well-endowed rear end of what he could only assume was a girl that was covered by snow-white panties. He let out a strange noise, akin to that of choking on his own embarrassment, and gripped his nostrils in fear that he would bleed.

"Ouch… Musubi is sorry..!" The cute brunette sat up, putting what seemed like an unnecessary arch to her back. She rubbed a sore spot on her head, and turned to meet the shocked gaze of Minato. She felt a fire ignite in her chest, and it quickly grew into a blazing inferno. A light blush dusted her cheeks, but she held a cheery attitude. "Ah, so you caught Musubi?" She asked, putting an adorable tilt to her head.

Minato could hardly speak, fumbling over his words. She was the embodiment of cuteness. That, and she had measurements that were above and beyond that of the average human female. His blush deepened in color as he couldn't help but notice that she was unintentionally straddling him.

"Hey, who are you? And just what do you think you're doing to Minato!?" Yashima cried, swinging her hammer around to her front, entering a fighting position. Akitsu had already materialized an ice lance over her left arm, and had assorted icicles hovering around her, ready to defend her Ahikabi if she needed to.

"Number 88, Musubi! I'm a fist-type Seki-" Her hands unconsciously flew to her mouth and she caught herself before she slipped once again.

 _'Oh no! Musubi can't say anything about the Plan, otherwise she'll be punished!'_ She thought, despair quickly entering her mind. She had totally disregarded the menacing women who were ready to fight tooth and nail for Minato, whom she was resting on.

"So you ARE a Sekirei." Akitsu stated. "It confirms my suspicions. There would be no way for a normal human to survive a fall like that, and I'm surprised you left my Minato-sama unscathed. But I must ask you to remove yourself from him. Now."

Akitsu readied her lance as Yahsima retorted quickly.

"What do you mean, 'YOUR Minato?'" She asked, appalled by the claim the Ice Sekirei had made. Akitsu, however, ignored her, more focused on the wellbeing of Minato than her admittedly childish feud with Yashima.

Musubi's ears perked up and she stood up quickly.

"You're Sekirei as well? Oh, yay! Two fights in one day!" She exclaimed. She suddenly stopped, and her excitement faded as quickly as it had appeared. It was then replaced with sorrow. "But Musubi hasn't found her Ashikabi yet…"

She quickly turned to Minato. She took in his features, and stared into his warm eyes. Her giddiness returned, and she jumped on top of the poor young man, pressing her massive globes against his chest unintentionally.

"Wh-What are you d-doing!?" He shouted. The girl simply smiled brightly, and leaned in, her personality proving to be the personification of happiness.

"Musubi apologizes for the suddenness, but it appears that she is reacting to you! Can you please wing her?" She stated bluntly, stars in her eyes. Minato deadpanned (Along with the other two Sekirei) and felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead. Her blunt admission had hit him like a truck.

"WHAT!?" Yahsima and Akitsu both yelled simultaneously, with Akitsu momentarily breaking her stone-face expression.

 _'What is with this girl!?'_ Minato thought. He was utterly astonished by how quickly she could bounce between subjects. She was almost like a small child in a buxom young woman's body.

"Just hold on for a minute! I just met you, and you d-don't even know my name! Isn't w-winging a Sekirei supposed to be as sacred as…" He gulped hard. "M-Marriage?"

Musubi halted her advances for a split second. She placed her finger on her chin, and began staring off into space, apparently deep in thought.

She broke out of her thoughts quickly.

"Would you mind telling Musubi your name?" She asked, her smile returning to her cute face.

"Sahashi Minato." He replied simply, wondering what the strange girl would do next.

Akitsu and Yashima could only watch and listen in awe, now realizing that the girl isn't a threat to their Ashikabi's safety anymore. Akitsu saw her as more competition, and Yashima was dumbfounded by the outright blunt nature of the naïve girl. She noticed Minato's wandering eyes catching onto Musubi's rather large breasts and how he blushed at the sight. She looked down to her own, and felt the world shatter around her. She was barely held up against Akitsu in the bust department, and now Musubi joins the competition for Minato's love, and she's practically towering over the both of them combined!

'If this keeps up, I don't know how much longer I can keep ahead…' She sighed mentally.

"It's nice to meet you, Sahashi Minato! Musubi's name is Musubi, and she's a fist-type Sekirei!" She exclaimed.

Before Minato even had time to think of a reply, Musubi hastily closed the distance, clashing her lips against his own in a quick, inexperienced kiss. She felt the blaze subside a bit before spiraling out of control once more as it covered the entirety of her body before exploding out of her back, forming magnificent pink wings, similar in shape to the ones Minato had witnessed before.

"Fist of my contract! Break the unhappiness of my Ashikabi!" She shouted after she broke from the hasty kiss, leaving Minato startled and dazed. She then turned to the two Sekirei from before, noticing that they had now lowered their guard. "Now, Musubi can properly fight!"

"I don't think you fully grasp the situation, Musubi-chan…" Yashima stated, deadpanning before the busty brunette. Musubi, however, only tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean, miss?" She asked, confusion coating her words.

Akitsu took the opportunity to explain, quickly and simply.

"Now that you have winged yourself to Minato, we are on the same side. We are also Minato's Sekirei." She held her stone-face strong. "There is no reason for you to fight us now."

Musubi halted. She stared at the two, before looking back to Minato, and then landing on the girls again.

"Huh?" She asked once again.

Minato let out a meek chuckle, laughing at his own misfortune.

"This is how I die." He stated simply.

 **0o0**

 **Thanks for reading guys! I felt that Musubi would be a great contrast to the competitive nature of Akitsu and Yashima, and considering she's the posterchild for the show to begin with, I felt she would be a good addition to Minato's flock! I even tried to amplify her innocence by adding the third-person way of speaking, although I do believe that's breaking canon.**

 **I apologize for the slow speed in which I am updating my stories. I just found out earlier before I'm posting this chapter that the family dog, Trigger, has come down with a case of lymphoma (which is a type of cancer, for those who didn't know), and we don't have the funds for chemotherapy. So I'm having a bit of trouble coming to terms with the soon departure of him, as he's a good dog, and a member of my family.**

 **But regardless, I hope you enjoyed! I'll try and keep the pace going, so leave your reviews and have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Nothing much. Thank you all for your kind words and reviews! I greatly appreciate it!**

 **0o0**

 **Chapter 6: Flying Fists and Angel's Kisses**

Musubi pouted, feeling her excitement drain from her body.

"Musubi didn't know you two were winged to Master…" She sniffled a bit, giving Minato a pair of puppy-dog eyes to look at. "Musubi is really sorry, Master! She won't do it again, she promises!"

"M-Master? What's this about!?" Minato and Yashima shouted in unison. Akitsu simply covered her mouth with one hand, covering her slight smile due to Minato's misfortune.

"Wow, Minato-sama. You've just winged her, and you're already taking advantage of her like that? For shame."

Minato quickly objected. "Hey, you know I didn't ask for her to call me that! She did it on her own free will!" He shouted, blushing at the title.

"Whatever you say, 'Master.'" Akitsu replied in a mocking tone. This only caused Minato to blush more.

"A-Anyway, Musubi, would you mind telling me why you fell on top of me just then? What was all that about?" Minato asked, regaining a bit of his composure. His answer was a loud grumble that sounded akin to that of a tiny earthquake.

As it urns out, it was Musubi's stomach.

"Musubi was really hungry! She hasn't eaten in a few days, now that she thinks about it!" Her wanting eyes only grew in strength, begging for some kind of positive reinforcement from her new Ashikabi.

However, Minato, along with Yashima and Akitsu, could only deadpan from the reply.

"How have you not been able to eat? Don't you have your VIP card from the MBI?" Yashima piped up.

Musubi's ears perked up, and she dug into her cleavage for a split second before revealing a credit card identical to the one Yashima had. Musubi's expression lit up quickly.

"Musubi made extra-sure that she had everything she needed when she left the MBI!" She stated, proud at her own personal accomplishment.

"Then why haven't you eaten? You can buy pretty much anything you need with that card." Akitsu chimed in. Musubi's features returned to that of wanting.

"She must have forgot…" She stated. Once again, she received a trio of deadpanning faces.

 _'How does someone simply forget to eat?'_ Minato thought. He let out a sigh, and stood up.

"Well, if you haven't eaten, why don't we just go to a nearby fast-food restaurant? I was getting kind of hungry as well." He said, rubbing a small bump on his head that he received from the collision previously.

"Yes, please!" Musubi replied enthusiastically at the notion of food, stunning Minato with how she could bounce between emotions so quickly.

"What do you two say to that?" Minato turned to Akitsu and Yashima. The latter was the first to reply.

"I think some food would be good right about now." Said the hammer-wielding Sekirei.

"As do I." Akitsu stated, her stone-face returning.

Musubi latched onto Minato, gripping him in a tight embrace while unintentionally pressing her rather large breasts into his side. "Then let's get going, shall we?" She asked, happy as could be.

"H-Hey, watch where you put your breasts!" Yashima exclaimed, feeling a blush spread across her face. Musubi only tilted her head in confusion, while Akitsu simply tagged along next to Minato. She didn't quite understand what being an Ashikabi to now three beautiful Sekirei was like, but now that she had spent time with him, she got an understanding of who he was as a person. This includes now seeing his timidity.

She reasoned that he was probably going through a lot, and decided to give him a break.

 _'The last thing I want to be seen as is a nuisance._ ' She thought. _'I know Minato would never voice his concerns, in fear of how it would affect us. However, I think "cutting him some slack", so to speak, would be best.'_

It was now Yashima's turn to pout at the attention directed towards Musubi instead of her, but she regretfully went with it, finding her own spot on Minato to cling onto.

Minato, however, couldn't tell if he was in heaven or hell.

They all quietly made their way to a shopping district, where eateries would most likely be located.

 **0o0**

 **Meanwhile…**

On the top of a building, across the street of the conversing Sekirei and their raven-haired Ashikabi, a slender man stood out of sight. His black overcoat was fluttering and waving in the breeze, as was his near snow-white hair. The lower-half of his face was covered by a thin, black mask, and the only skin that was showing was blow his hairline and above his cheekbones. His burgundy eyes bore holes into the back of the head of the man he was observing.

 _'I guess Number 88 doesn't need any more supervision.'_ He thought. _'Though this "Minato" character may be someone I need to keep an eye on. He seems to be drawing in Sekirei like a magnet.'_

He straightened out his back, and stretched his arms out, shaking off the soreness he developed from straining his muscles to keep him hidden.

"Homura! There thou art!" A rather booming, yet feminine voice sounded from behind the eavesdropping man. "I hasth searched the entire city looking for thee!"

The silver-haired man, now known as Homura, could only cringe slightly as he turned to get a look at who the owner of the Old English speak was.

She had long, somewhat curly blonde hair that extended down to her waist, and blue eyes that never seemed to remind him of anything aside from the glistening surface of the ocean. Near the top of her head was where her hair seemed to crease into what seemed to be a golden crown, fitting for her personality. She was wearing a black overcoat-ish dress with a white underdress that shows off a great amount of here ample cleavage. Around her neck was a black choker, holding white, frilled cloth in place. Near her lower-half, she had on an incredibly short skirt. If even so much as a small breeze blew by, her undergarments could be easily exposed, proving the impracticality of it. Below that, she had on knee length brown boots and black stockings underneath.

"I'm honored that you would spend so much time on little ole' me, Miss Panty-Flash." Homura smirked under his mask.

"For the last time, Homura, I am not 'Miss Panty-Flash!' My name is Tsukiumi, and thee will respect it." The blonde's thick accent made it somewhat hard to understand her, but Homura got the gist.

"Okay, okay, no need to get angry. Just tell me what you needed me for." Tsukiumi crossed her arms under her breast, flustered from Homura's endless teasing about her clothing choices.

"Thank you. Now, the reason I took time out of mine day to find thee is because I am in need of thy assistance. I has't been told that thee art the Sekirei Guardian, correct?" She asked.

"Do you mean to ask me if I'm the one looking after the unwinged Sekirei? Then yes." He stated simply. "I'm not a big fan of that title, though. Too flashy for my taste."

"Good. I wished to ask thee if thou woult help me with mine Ashikabi."

"You finally found your Ashikabi? Congrats. I'm happy for you."

"No, quite the opposite, in fact. I need thy help in finding and ending mine Ashikabi." She stated, her eyes growing cold. "All these so-called 'humans' has't done is prove to me that they are nothing more than a race of apes. I cannot stand the idea of one of those monkeys having their way with my body. The very notion of one of those cretins controlling me sickens me."

Homura recoiled slightly. He knew that Tsukiumi didn't take very kindly to humans or the idea of 'Sekirei and Ashikabi relationships,' but now she wants to _kill_ her Ashikabi?

"Tsukiumi, what are you talking about? What makes you so certain that any of those people are anything like your future Ashikabi?" He pried.

"I care not for specifics, and I do not wish to discuss them. All I ask is for thine assistance. Thou art free to decline if thou so desire, but thou art the only person I can trust in this world." She turned her back to the silver-haired bishonen, awaiting a response.

 _'Yep, that's Tsukiumi. Always jumping to conclusions without thinking of the outcome.'_ Homura thought to himself.

"Sorry, but I'll have to decline." He said. "My job is to guard the little birds and their Ashikabi. I won't throw away all I've done now."

Tsukiumi turned away from him. She let out a low grumble of displeasure.

"I will try and help in one way, though."

Tsukiumi turned and looked at him from the corner of her eye, over her shoulder.

"In what way?" She asked.

"I'll give you some advice." He turned his back to the blonde, and stood up onto the ledge of the building as the wind began to pick up speed, causing his cape-like overcoat to flutter. "If and when you do meet your Ashikabi, please, give them a chance. Who knows, he or she might be a nice person?"

Tsukiumi fell into deep thought. To her, this sounded more like a request than advice. And if it was a request, she decided to respect it. After all, he was the one to pull her out of the slump she had fallen into.

"I'll ponder it." She said, receiving a slight sigh of relief from Homura. "However, I shalt guarantee nothing."

"Hey, it's better than nothing. I'll see you around." Homura chuckled to himself softly, before leaping into the air with what seemed to be no effort at all.

Tsukiumi sighed. She weighed her options. She could listen to her own pride and prejudices, and follow through with her plans to eliminate her Ashikabi. Or, she could listen to the advice of her old friend.

 _'Perhaps this is his way of repaying me for all the time I hath spent watching out for him?'_ She thought, remembering all the times she had caught him about to die from his problems. The MBI had manipulated his genes with constant testing and experiments. It left his Sekirei abilities unstable. If he were to overuse them, he would quickly burn himself to a crisp unintentionally.

 _'I can only assume that his own body has't harmed itself plenty. The least I could do was cool him off.'_ She pondered. _'However, the true reason I had assisted him was because I wished to fight him proper. Seeing him wither and die a husk would prove most displeasing, in regards to the Battle Royale that villain Minaka has put into action. It would be dishonorable and cowardly to simply let him die without a chance to prove himself. And now that I have rescued him from the cold hands of Death, I shall be the one to finish him.'_

 _'Though, maybe he has learned things in his time of vigilante work that I hath not, regarding Sekirei and their relationships with Ashikabi?'_

She quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind, deciding that she would cross (or burn) that bridge when she came to it. She pinched the bridge of her nose before staring off into the sea of buildings and moving vehicles. The sight of the hustle and bustle the primates called humans made in what she thought was a pathetic attempt at living life annoyed her.

She thought more on the topic of Homura's words. She understood what he did, but she didn't understand why. What was the purpose of helping these monkeys gain control over her brothers and sisters? It irked her to no end. She knew that Homura saw the world from a different life than she did, but it still added to the mysterious character that he was.

Tsukiumi sighed again, and leapt from the building, into the distance to continue the search for the person that caused and is causing her such grief.

 **0o0**

 **Later, inside a Patty Frye's burger restaurant…**

Minato, Akitsu and Yashima shared an exasperated sigh at the sight of Musubi wolfing down her 4th round of food. She had already eaten 5 hamburgers, 3 large fries, downed 6 drinks, and is now stacking little cups of ketchup off to the side. And even after all of that, she had shown no sign of stopping any time soon.

 _'I knew Sekirei eat a lot, but this is more than Akitsu or Yashima have eaten in one sitting combined.'_ He scratched the back of his head, and sighed at the sheer hunger Musubi demonstrated.

It chipped away at his pride to see the black VIP credit card swiped through a scanner, and now seeing it be done 6 times in one day, he was already on the verge of giving up on the idea of providing for his Sekirei. At the rate in which he was winging Sekirei and how much they cost to take care of, his plan of independence from the MBI was starting to seem more and more like a hopeless pipe dream.

"How long ago did you say it was since you last ate, Musubi-chan?" Minato asked in concern. Musubi let out a little giggle before answering.

"Musubi thinks it was around three or four days… Though she can't be sure." She continued eating. "Musubi is almost full now. Thank you for taking her out to eat, Master!"

Minato blushed yet again from how Musubi was referring to him.

"Well, all I really did was bring you here. The food was payed for by your VIP card." He let out a nervous chuckle. "Also, you know you don't have to call me Master, right? You can just call me by my first name."

"Okay, Master!" She replied, giddy as ever.

Minato felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead. Musubi put down a half-eaten burger, letting out a sigh of relief as she clapped her hands together.

"Thank you for the food!" She exclaimed.

Yashima couldn't help but acknowledge the jealousy she was feeling. She tried her best to ignore it, but it always creeped back into her thoughts.

 _'Sooner or later, I need to talk with Minato.'_ She thought. _'For his sake, and for mine.'_

She felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. She felt as if she wasn't fulfilling her duties as a Sekirei. She began to sulk without realizing it, and Minato caught wind of it.

"Hey, Yashima. Are you feeling okay?" He asked. She wanted to ignore him, and to just play it off. But since she was sitting right next to him, with Akitsu on his other side, she couldn't hide it.

"I-I'm fine, Minato-sama. My stomach just appears to be acting up." She lied through her teeth. She didn't like to lie, nor did she want to, but she didn't want to worry Minato.

"Are you sure? If there's something on your mind, I'm all ears." He said, pulling out his comforting voice. "You can tell me anything." He smiled warmly.

Memories of him sitting with his sister trying to comfort her came back to him. From the time he spent helping his sibling emotionally, he developed a knack for seeing when someone is lying. His sister always tried to play the tough-girl act, but he figured out a way to see right through it.

This was no different.

Yashima felt her heartstrings being tugged at, and the guilt grew in intensity. She couldn't lie to him.

 _'Here he is, trying to help me, and I'm blocking him out.'_ She thought. _'What am I doing?'_

"O-Okay, I'll tell you… In private." Before Minato could protest, she gently grabbed his shirt sleeve and tugged him away. They walked outside, and out of sight from the other two Sekirei.

Musubi tilted her head in confusion.

"What was that all about? Is something wrong?" She asked, and suddenly gasped. "Is she going to confess her love!? Musubi has to see!" Her excitement quickly came back to her, and she began figuratively bouncing off the walls.

"Hold on, Musubi, calm down. I wouldn't interfere with this." Akitsu said, her icy tone chilling Musubi to the bone. "This sounds like something they to handle on their own. You probably didn't notice it, but there was urgency in her voice. We should probably stay out of it."

"But…" Musubi sighed, decided to stand by and follow the words of Akitsu. Even with her naïve tendencies, she could easily tell that Akitsu was the type to do her homework. She most likely knew more about Minato than Yashima did, so following her instructions would probably be best. "Okay… Musubi will trust you."

"Good." Akitsu replied in her usual monotone voice.

 **0o0**

 **Outside…**

"Whoa, Yashima, hold on. Where are we going?" Minato asked, surprised by the sudden actions of the girl in question.

"Just far enough so that others won't hear us. This is very private…" Yahsima felt a blush spread across her face.

This reaction caused Minato to blush twice as hard, assuming she meant something else.

"W-Wait, j-just how private i-i-is this!?" He questioned.

Yashima noticed the misconception, and blurted out, "No! Nothing like that!" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"I just wanted to talk… About some things…" She gripped his hand gently in her own, letting her head hang a bit.

Minato pushed the inappropriate thoughts from his head. He could now see that something was deeply troubling her.

"S-Sure, whatever you wanna talk about, I'm here." He stated with concern.

Yashima fidgeted in place, growing more nervous by the second. She could feel his gentle gaze upon her body.

"W-Well… I don't really have a way to say this without sounding selfish, but…" She blushed again. "I feel like… I feel like I don't get to spend a whole lot of time with you… And I'd like to, but you are always tangled with Akitsu or, now, Musubi." She said, lifting her head up and looking into the eyes of her Ashikabi.

"Yashima…" He said, shocked and impressed with how she was able to break down the barriers of her comfort zone. If he hadn't been with her for the time he had, he would have never expected her to ever voice her displeasures, due to her initial bashfulness.

"If you can, I would love to spend more time with you. I understand that you are busy with things, and I won't try and disrupt important things going on in your life, but maybe, when you're done with them…" She blushed hard. "We could go… On a date..?"

Minato's face flushed red at the request. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

 _'Did Yashima just… ask me out? What happened to her bashfulness?'_ He thought.

"However, I'll respect your decisions. If you don't want to, I understand." She said, with a heavy heart. "I want to respect the love Akitsu and Musubi feel for you, so if you decline, I wo-"

Yashima was cut off mid-sentence by Minato pulling her into a warm, loving embrace. She blushed heavily at the gesture, but wrapped her own arms around his shoulders, relishing in the feeling of security in his arms.

 _'I guess I really haven't been paying that much attention to her… I guess the things I've been facing during the past few days has taken away from Yashima and I's quality time together.'_ He thought to himself, still holding Yashima in his warm hug. _'I've really gotta get my act together… This is serious business, and Yashima, along with the others are counting on me.'_

"Yashima, I'm sorry I haven't been spending enough time with you. I didn't realize how you feel about this whole situation." He said. "I'm glad you told me."

She could only blush, as she was rendered speechless by Minato's sudden show of what could only be described as manliness.

Minato removed himself momentarily from the embrace.

"I really am sorry for being ignorant to your feelings, Yashima. But from now on, I'll try my hardest to spend more time with you." He stared at her with his steely-gray eyes, filled with determination and kindness. He let a warm smile spread across his face. "Because I-I… I love you. And I would love to go on a date with you."

Minato felt a hot blush spread across his face as he felt his courage suddenly falter a bit. Though, in the end, he was glad he could tell her.

Yashima, after quickly checking the perimeter for any passerby's that might be glancing in their direction, pulled Minato into a sudden, but deep and passionate kiss. Minato wrapped his arms around her waist in a more-loving-than-lustful manner, now used to sudden shows of affection from his Sekirei.

Yashima felt her wings explode from her back in a shower of luminescent feathers before they faded. Regardless of the disappearance of her wings, she held the kiss for as long as they could stand it, savoring the feeling. Eventually, they had to break away, due to lack of oxygen. If Yashima could have remained in that position of suspended reality with Minato forever, she would, without hesitation, have it that way.

Minato took in a deep, yet quiet breath before hugging Yashima once again.

"Thank you, Minato-sama. I love you, too." Yashima said quietly, but audible enough for only Minato to hear.

Minato gently swayed in their embrace.

"Though, I think that date will have to wait a little while. I've still got to worry about finding us a place to stay." He said, chuckling a bit.

"Of course, Minato-sama." She replied, understanding his cause. "Of course."

 **0o0**

 **Meanwhile…**

"Ugh! I can't believe they want us to go after her again!" Benitsubasa complained. "We nearly got our asses handed to us. What makes them think it will turn out any different the second time?"

"Well, we did underestimate her greatly." Haihane answered. "Plus, from what the MBI could tell us, she's apparently not very good with combat."

"Yeah? And just how the hell is that? I kicked her in the side, and she flicked me away without so much as breaking a sweat!" Benitsubasa retorted.

"Well, if you really wanna be technical, she probably did break a sweat. MBI says her Achilles Heel is extended combat. Meaning she gets tired really easily." Haihane replied, checking her claws for any nicks or dulling.

"Hm… So the key to beating her is tuckering her out?" Benitsubasa asked as she placed a hand on her chin, thinking of possible strategies the Disciplinary Duo could use against her.

"Yeah. But for right now, they've given us some time to rest up and think of a game plan, so if I were you, I'd relax for the time being."

"I'll worry about the plan first, you get some rest. I have a feeling we're gonna need it." She sat down as Haihane nodded in approval of her suggestion. The silver-haired Sekirei removed her claws and found a spot to curl up and fall asleep. Benitsubasa, however, remained awake, formulating plans for their attack.

 _'Just you wait, Number 88. I'll return the favor soon enough.'_

 **0o0**

 **Later…**

Minato and Yashima walked back into the front door of the fast food restaurant. Yashima's expression had greatly improved since the last time Akitsu had seen her, and she clung onto Minato's left arm happily. This earned some glares at Minato from the other men in the restaurant, and some envious stares from a few women.

Musubi didn't pay attention, as she was on the verge of passing out from overexerting herself previously combined with the satisfaction of her hunger.

"What took you two so long?" Akitsu asked as the two lovers sat next to her. "You weren't doing anything… obscene, were you?"

"A-Absolutely not! Just who do you take me for, Akitsu-chan?" He asked, blushing heavily.

"I take you for a very strong and caring man. I'm only teasing, Minato-sama, lighten up." She said, her cold expression contradicting her words.

 _'You're one to talk about "lightening up…"'_ Minato thought to himself as he scratched the back of his head. _'Though, I guess she's right.'_

"Anyway, what should we make of our current housing crisis?" Akitsu asked. She ceased the teasing, as there were more important things to worry about.

"I think we'll stick with the current plan. We should go to that 'Maison Izu-place' and see if they're willing to accept us." He replied, attempting to clean up as much of the mess Musubi made as possible, noticing that she was unable to do so herself.

"You think they would? I hope they're understanding of our current situation." Yashima said, giving Minato a slightly worried look.

"I don't know. We can't explain our situation to them, considering the rules of the Sekirei Plan not allowing us to talk about it." Minato replied, a bit quieter than before. "But, I suppose we'll just have to hope for the best. Not a whole lot we can do otherwise."

"Okay. And even if they don't accept us, I'll stay by your side forever, Minato-sama!" Yashima exclaimed, gripping his arm tight.

"As will I." Akitsu stated.

Musubi could do no more than emit a happy noise of agreement. She was nearly asleep at this point, which caused the other three to deadpan.

"Whelp, if everyone's done eating, I'll go throw our trash away." Minato stood and started gathering the empty bags, boxes and wrappers left over from Musubi's food-fueled rampage. "Could you two do me a favor and make sure Musubi is awake when we leave?"

"Will do!" Yashima exclaimed, while Akitsu simply nodded her head.

Minato did as he said, and threw the rubbish into the nearest bin, barely able to cram it all down into the bag. The employees of the eatery could only sigh greatly at the extra work one girl was able to cause them.

 **0o0**

 **Later…**

Minato and his three Sekirei had finally reached their destination; A boarding home themed heavily off of traditional Japanese housing. There was a small archway outside of the building, also in the traditional Japanese style. It felt incredibly foreign, considering how far back in time it felt and how hard it clashed with its surroundings, but it felt cozy at the same time.

He approached the door with Akitsu, Yashima and a now fully-awake Musubi before rapping gently against the door.

"This has to be the place… Let's hope for the best." He sighed gently, praying to whoever would listen for the best.

"Coming!" Sounded a young, feminine voice from inside.

A few moments pass before the door creaks gently open, revealing a beautiful woman with long purple hair. Her firm, yet warm maroon eyes locked onto his own, as she held an expression of confusion. She had on a miko outfit, similar to Musubi's, but with a long purple skirt and a belt-like cloth wrapped around her waist.

"Oh, good evening. Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, politely.

"O-Oh, hello, miss. I found this flyer that said a place by the name of Maison Izumo was accepting tenants. Is this the correct place?" He asked, showing as much respect to the woman as possible.

"Oh, yes! This is Maison Izumo! And yes, we are accepting tenants. Please, come in, come in." She stood aside allowing the four to make their way inside the house.

"Thank you very much. My name is Sahashi Minato. And you are..?" He held his hand out to the woman as his three Sekirei made their way past them and explored the building a bit, taking care not to stray too far.

"My, my, handsome AND well mannered! I can see a great friendship between us in the future, Minato-san. My name is Asama Miya, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She took his hand, feeling the firm grip of the young man as they shook hands briefly. "It's a shame you didn't make it here sooner. We had just finished eating lunch."

"Oh, it's fine, Asama-dono. See, the others and I had just finished eating before we came here, so we'll be okay." He explained. "Thank you for your concern, though."

"Please, just call me Miya. I like to view my tenants as family rather than business partners, so I prefer to be as close with them as possible, Minato-san."

"Alright, Miya-san." Miya couldn't help but smile at the respect the young man had shown her.

 _'To think, I was just about to give up hope on a generation of respect, and here comes this fine young man.'_ She thought to herself. _'Though, I wonder what he's doing with three gorgeous women… Ah, what am I thinking? I shouldn't pry into the private life of someone I've just met.'_

"Please, come this way." Miya began walking down the hall, motioning for the awestruck girls to follow her lead as well.

"Wow, Miya-san. This place is really nice! Does it take a lot of effort to keep it in such great shape?" Yashima asked.

"Oh, my. Flattery will get you everywhere, little lady." Miya cooed, her tone sounding almost motherly. "But to answer your question, it does take a bit of elbow grease here and there. Though, I have the other tenants help me when they can."

Miya led them to a large living room. The floor was covered in a layer of tatami matting, and the walls were of a traditional paper design, sliding-wooden-door and all. In the center of the room was a large table, and off to the side was a television. Miya sat down at the table and motioned for the newcomers to join her. Minato and his harem sat down, each one trying to be as close to him as possible, leading to him sighing with a blush.

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we? First, we'll discuss the topic of rent, and then I'll explain what I would like out of you in return, along with the rules of living here." Miya stated. Minato nodded, and prayed that it would be something affordable.

 _'I still want to be able to provide for them. I haven't given up on that. I just hope she isn't asking for too much.'_ He thought. _'But, if it comes to it, I suppose we'll have to use the VIP card. I hope it doesn't, though.'_

"Considering that there are four of you, that would tally up to you having to pay around ¥30,000 a month per person." Miya said with a smile.

Minato's jaw dropped.

"That's so cheap! How do you stay in business!?" He exclaimed, shocked by the incredible deal presented to him. It was almost too good to be true. The girls, however, only wore expressions of confusion, as they didn't know what value 'yen' had truly held. They had only been released from the MBI recently, so they haven't really had the chance to study up on the economics of Japan a whole lot.

"Well, like I said, I like to run my inn more like a house than a place of business. If it were up to me, I wouldn't make you pay anything. The price you pay covers for the things you use here, so it will fluctuate. But that's the average I've found with the current tenants." She explained. "However, there are other conditions that correlate with the cheap rent. I will expect you to take up chores. Simple things like cleaning the building, laundry, maintenance, getting groceries, and things like that."

"Makes sense. Make up for the cheap payment in manual labor." Akitsu piped up.

"Precisely." Miya replied. "Along with that, my husband and I made a vow to never turn down anyone that was in need." She turned back towards Minato.

"Where is your husband now?" Yashima asked, sensing the room falling into an awkward silence.

"He is… No longer with us." She replied with a heavy heart, but held her happy face. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't believe I've caught your names."

"Oh, right. I'm Yashima. This is Akitsu," She responded, pointing to the ice maiden. She received a nod from Akitsu. "And that's –"

"Musubi! It's a pleasure to meet you, Miya-san!" The brunette cheered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Now, Minato-san, what do you say about my offer?" She turns to Minato.

"I-I would love it! I don't think anyone in their right mind would decline it!" He exclaimed.

"Fantastic! I'll let you spend the first month here free, as I could only imagine that your… Current situation has probably bled you dry." She motioned to the girls. "Now, I won't pry into your private life, and I won't ask why you have three beautiful young women living with you, but I'll have you know that I will not tolerate any sexual activities in Maison Izumo."

Minato and the girls, save Akitsu, blushed heavily at what Miya was implying.

"O-O-Of course, Miya-san!" He sputtered out.

"Good. Now, we will discuss rooms." She continued. "You will each have your own separate rooms."

"Huh!?" All of the girls, now including Akitsu, nearly shouted. "But why!?"

"Like I said, sexual activities are not tolerated here, and putting one young man in a room with three attractive women of the same age would almost certainly lead to sexual activities. That also means there will be no night-crawling. Do I make myself clear?" She said, mustering a stern, but understanding voice.

"But-!" Yashima began.

"I said, do I make myself clear?" Miya's mouth grew into a wry smile, and a demonic visage appeared behind her. A hannya mask appeared behind her, and a purple aura began to collect around it.

"AAAH! Yes, Miya-san!" Yashima, Musubi, and Minato shouted simultaneously. Akitsu simply accepted it, feeling no urge to go against this woman. She nodded in her direction before uttering a quick "Understood."

"Great! Now, follow me. I'll show you to your rooms." The visage quickly dissipated, and her normal expression returned as she stood up and opened a door leading out of the room. The group of young adults followed after their new landlady, still chilled to the bone by her simply smiling.

"What was that all about?" Akitsu whispered to Minato as they followed.

"I have no idea… But I don't think I want to find out." Minato let out a nervous chuckle as Miya gave them the grand tour of the building on the way to their rooms.

 **0o0**

 **And there we go! You guys said you wanted to see more of Yashima and Minato, so I attempted to deliver! I hope you like how it played out!**

 **Thank you all for your kind words of wisdom and support!**

 **See you guys later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Finally, I have returned!**

 **I deeply apologize to all those who have read my story and been left on a cliffhanger, so to speak. I have now gotten over the loss of the family pet, and I think I have managed to find the drive to continue writing, with the second story that I have uploaded. If you would like to check it out, please check out my profile! It would be really appreciated!**

 **Anyway, I really appreciate all of your kind words! All the support I got from you guys is outstanding, and it's great to know I have fans that will support me through these kinds of hard times.**

 **Now, without further ado, it's time for chapter 7 of Sekirei: Steel of the Bond!**

0o0

Minato bent down and collected the last piece of dirty laundry in the house: a single sock, mostly clean, save for a bit of dirt at the toe. He placed the lonely article in the basket and lifted it, making his way out of the room. He closed the door behind him, and trudged down the hall to the utility room, where the washing machine and dryer sat ready.

He rounded a corner, and out poked a head of messy, light-brown hair that Minato instantly recognized as Akitsu's. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around, up and down the hall, apparently still learning the layout of her new home.

She spotted Minato, and naturally perked up a bit.

"Good morning, Minato-sama," she croaked softly.

"Good morning, Akitsu-san," Minato replied with a wide smile. "Did you sleep well?" He received a slight nod in return, followed by a slight moan as she attempted to rid her face of drowsiness once again. She approached him from his side and planted a small peck on his cheek.

He blushed slightly, now getting more and more used to the constant affection shown to him by his Sekirei. He replied with a kiss of his own that he intended to land on her cheek, but one that she manipulated with a quick turn of her head to land on her lips.

Akitsu felt the warmth of her wings as they sprouted and stretched from her shoulder blades, the blue light spilling into the hallway and illuminating their location through the paper walls. She wrestled with his tongue for a split second before parting their lips, causing her wings to disappear.

Minato was left dumbfounded, so much that he didn't register Akitsu's hands prying the laundry basket from him.

"Akitsu-chan, what are you doing?!" he whispered. "You know you can't reveal yourself as a Sekirei! What if someone saw?"

Minato's eyes darted up and down the hall while Akitsu simply yawned and stretched, the basket clunking down beside her.

"I know this, Minato-sama," she muttered matter-of-factly. "That's why I checked our vicinity for any signs of life using my Sixth Sense. You know that Sekirei have that ability, correct?"

"Whoa, really?" Minato stared at the Frost Maiden, astounded by the revelation.

"Of course not." Akitsu replied without skipping a beat. "I came out of my room to check the halls just before you came by."

Minato's shocked expression faded to a deadpanning face, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "If that's the case, then what was the point of acting like you'd just woken up?"

"I believe the expression is to 'steal a good-morning kiss', Minato-sama," Akitsu explained with a flat tone, to which she received a nervous chuckle. "And, to do this."

The young ronin suddenly found himself caught in the Ice Sekirei's warm embrace, her soft lips once more pressed to his own. He felt his eyes close as something even softer caressed his chest, as her hands hugged him closer and compelled him to return the gesture in kind. It was then that Akitsu sprung her trap, lifting her legs and closing around his hips with her naked thighs. The sudden shift in weight caused Minato to fall forward, his Sekirei dragging him back into the darkness of her room as she continued to kiss him. With her beloved cushioned by her body, the only thing that remained was to wrap her legs around his back, moaning audibly, as she squeezed him with nearly every part of herself.

Minato was finally allowed free, gasping as he hadn't a chance to breathe before Akitsu jumped his tongue. The ivory-skinned maiden leaned her head back and gently brought Minato's to rest beneath her jaw, staring at the ceiling as she felt his panted breath roll over her neck.

"I'll be heading down to the dining room now, Minato-sama."

As much as she wished it were so, she couldn't live off her Ashikabi's love, as much as his kisses filled her with life. So, she rolled over, making sure to drape herself over him like a throw rug before sitting up, her white dress within reach. She saw the red appear on Minato's cheeks as he finally noticed, with the light from the hall outlining her body, that Akitsu was naked.

"I'll make sure to save you some breakfast."

Minato dumbly nodded. "Thank you, Akitsu-chan. I'll be down in a minute."

The Ice Sekirei climbed off of him, already sliding one arm into a white sleeve. Exiting her room, Akitsu and Minato turned to walk opposite paths down the hall. Minato proceeded down the stairs with the laundry, while Akitsu lagged behind a bit.

The jagged note of wooden boards creaking caused Akitsu to snap around and take a defensive fighting stance, readying an ice lance in her hand.

To her surprise, however, her counterblitz was greeted by a barren hallway. Her eyes darted to and fro, scanning her surroundings with blistering speed.

Nothing.

Confused, she retracted her ice lance.

"I'm almost positive I heard... Maybe it was just my imagination..?" she murmured.

She continued down the hall towards the stairs opposite the ones Minato used. Though this time, she kept her guard up. Every few seconds, she glanced over her shoulder. Each time, still nothing, so down the stairs she went.

0o0

"Hm hmmmm... Hm hm hmmm..." The sound of soft humming, sizzling and chopping made their way into the dining room from the kitchen. Miya was hard at work preparing a large breakfast for her new tenants. She quickly diced assorted vegetables to make a large bowl of kobachi. After, she cleaned her hands of the veggies' juices and removed the now grilled salmon off the stove, and set them in the center island with the rest of the finished foods.

The door to the dining room slid open, revealing Yashima and Musubi, who were still drowsy from one incredibly comfortable sleep.

"Good-morning..." they announced weakly.

Miya poked her head from the doorway dividing the dining room and the kitchen.

"Ah, Musubi-chan and Yashima-chan! Good morning to you both!" Miya called. "Would you mind helping me out by setting the table?" The wonderful smells of grilled fish and steamed rice found their way to the two Sekirei's nostrils, and their expressions immediately perked up.

"Yes, ma'am!" they cheered.

Another door slid open to reveal the now wide-awake Akitsu. She felt that her presence didn't need to be announced, and noticed the task that her friends had taken. She took a few plates and bowls and began placing them in the same style the others were.

Thankfully, Miya had taken some time the day prior to show them all how to properly set the table for the majority of their meals, and stated that it would be one of their chores for the morning. They graciously accepted, and that was that.

Once all the plates and utensils were set, Musubi and Akitsu took their respective seats. Yahsima on the other hand decided to check with Miya to see if there was anything else to be done.

"Excuse me, Miya-san? Would you like my help with anything?" she asked. "It appears that you've got your hands full."

"Well…" Miya hummed to herself quietly as she thought, while Yashima stood astonished at the sight of her landlady staring off into space while flipping chunks of salmon. "It would be a big help if you could go and wake the rest of the tenants for me. I would like everyone present for breakfast; I don't believe everyone's been introduced."

"Alright, will do! I'll get right on it, ma'am!" exclaimed Yashima happily.

And with that, Yashima left to complete her task.

0o0

Minato mashed the button on the dryer, sending the final load of laundry into its proper cycle. He rolled back his shoulders and sighed, satisfied with his work. The hampers were stacked into one another for storage, and set down in the nook between the far wall and the washing machine. Finally finished with his morning chores, Minato decided to head to the dining room.

"Sure was a lot of clothes. Glad it's over and done with, though."

As he made his way to breakfast, the stench of sweat made its way to Minato's nose. He quickly traced the source of the smell to himself, and decided that a shower was in order. He reached the dining room door and slid it open. Inside, Akitsu and Musubi were sitting next to one another at the dining room table, with one seat in between them. Minato could only assume that the two had taken the opportunity to steal seats in such a way that allowed them to get their fair share of himself. Akitsu's attention was captivated by the television at the other end of the room, while Musubi was fast asleep on the floor.

"Morning!" he said quickly. "Where's Miya-san?"

Akitsu averted her attention from the TV, just long enough to acknowledge her Ashikabi's presence. Her response was an index finger pointed at the kitchen. Musubi mumbled ever so slightly through her dream, almost as if she was trying to give Minato an answer of her own. The sight made Minato chuckle.

"Thank you, Akitsu. Could you do me a favor and make sure she's up so Miya-san won't get frustrated?" He received a stoic nod. "Thanks. I'm going to go take a bath, so I was-"

Musubi shot up, wide awake. "Did someone say 'bath'?!" Her eyes immediately locked with Minato's. "Musubi will wash your back, Master! Leave it to her!"

Miya caught wind of the conversation and poked her head into the room.

"My, my, Minato-san. Just what have you done to little Musubi-chan that makes her call you 'Master'?" she teased. "However, as I've said before, illicit sexual activities will not be tolerated in Maison Izumo."

Minato blushed heavily. "I-I swear, she calls me that because she chooses to, miss!"

"Very well, Minato-san, whatever you say." She winked, which only caused him more grief. "Also, I heard about the bath you were planning on taking. You'll have plenty of time, so enjoy it! Breakfast should be ready by the time you're done."

"T-Thank you, Miya-san," he said, defeated from the previous situation. Musubi only pouted.

"No fair..."

"Sorry, Musubi-chan. I'll be back in a little bit." He waved slightly, and made his way to his room to collect clean clothes.

0o0

Yashima made her way down a hall lined with doors. The ones that were taken would have a small chime wrapped around the handle, notifying their occupancy to those who passed by. Yashima stopped at the first one, and knocked gently.

In response, she received the loud, unpleasant sound of snoring from within.

"Er... Excuse me? Miya-san asked me to come and get everyone ready for breakfast, so please wake up!" From the other side of the door, she could hear the sound of cloth ruffling, bare footsteps, and a bit of mumbled swearing. The footsteps made their way to the door, where the deadbolt turned and the wood door slid open.

Behind it, a woman with long, silky brown hair revealed herself.

"Hmm..? Oh, hello! You must be one of the new tenants I heard about!" the girl exclaimed.

Yashima, however, felt her face heat up as it turned beet red due to the indecency that the girl was sporting. She was completely naked, save for a pair of white panties.

"M-M-Miss, please put some clothes on!" Yashima stammered. The brunette took a quick glance down at her bare breasts and donned a surprised look.

"Whoops! That explains why it was chilly! I'll get dressed," she said, in a strangely jolly tone for the situation. "Thanks for waking me up! My name's Uzume. And you are...?"

"Y-Yashima. It's n-nice to meet you, Uzume," the petite girl replied. "A-Anyway, I'll leave you to get dressed. If you need me, I'll be waking the others up."

"Oh, the only other person living here aside from your friends, the landlady, and me is Kagari, and he's usually gone right about now. He works during the night, so he usually gets back around the afternoon," Uzume raised a hand as she explained. "Anyway, I'll see you at the dining room. Just lemme get changed and I'll be right there."

"Alright! Thank you!" Yashima blurted. She began making her way down the hall back to the dining room, when she stopped to collect her thoughts. And the first thing that came to mind was...

 _'WHY DOES EVERY GIRL HERE HAVE BIGGER BREASTS THAN ME!?'_

 **0o0**

Minato wrapped a towel around his waist as he sat upon a stool in front of the mirror next to the tub. The sound of water spiraling down the drain echoed as he pumped some shampoo into his hands, and ran them through his wet hair. He lathered the soap through his locks and closed his eyes, shielding them from the substance. His mind drifted away, and he began thinking of recent events.

"I hope Akitsu is adjusting well... Going from 'unwingable' to being winged after everything those scientists said? It's got to be taking its toll on her..." His hands slowed to a stop. "Musubi seems happy, though. I just hope I'm spending enough time with her..."

He felt a headache begin to swell behind his eyes. He shook his head.

"I guess I shouldn't think too hard about it. After all, Akitsu's mood seems to be improving by the day, and I've promised Yashima I would go on a date with her soon. Musubi hasn't been negative about anything since she was winged!" He rattled his head to shake a bit of soap from his brow, before leaning forward to rest on his knees. "Now that I think about it... Where's a good place to take Yashima on our date..?"

He continued to mumble to himself while he washed his hair. He found that voicing his thoughts helped get them in order; alone, of course, where there was no Mom or Yukari to harp on him. As he grabbed a bucket of warm water and rinsed his hair out, the sound of a creaking floorboard resonated throughout the room.

"Huh..?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Sorry, but the bath is occu-" Minato's words were stolen by the sight of a strange woman standing behind him.

Her hair was a mess of silvery-white, and her skin was unnaturally pale, almost gray. Her eyes were a strange amber, and their pupils stuck to the top of their lids, which Minato recalled as 'sanpaku eyes.' They gave her facial appearance an eerie look, and coupled with her wry smile, it made Minato's heart drop. She was dressed in a patchy, torn, black kimono-like dress, and her body underneath was covered in white bandages, just a few shades lighter than her skin. Around her neck was a thick, studded choker with a blank tag on the face. She hid her hands behind her back, making Minato assume she was armed.

"Wha- I'm not- Who are you?!"

She chuckled in a deep, sultry tone, like velvet against Minato's eardrums.

"Funny you should ask... I'd assume you've got a few brain cells to rub together, right?" she bantered. "Take a guess."

"Uhm... Childhood friend..?" Minato scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I've never seen you before in my life... Eh-hehe..."

Minato scratched the back of his head as the strange woman sighed.

"No, dummy, not me as an individual." She laughed a bit harder. "I'm a member of the Discipline Squad. Remember now? The Sekirei who enforce the rules of the game?"

"Oh yeah. Right, I remember," Minato lied.

"M-hm, sure." The woman saw right through him. "Well, let me to cut to the chase. I want out of the Squad, and so does my partner. See, I'm too lazy to put effort into stuff MBI wants me to do, and my partner doesn't like the restraints our handlers put on us. We need an exit, and that's where you come in." The woman removed her arms from her back revealing steel gauntlets with long, curved blades for fingers. The mere sight of the weapons caused Minato to shiver.

"H-How?" he squeaked, hoping, praying, that one of his Sekirei would test Miya's patience and attempt to bathe with him, so they could _save_ him! "Also, how did you get in here without the others knowing!?"

"For one, my route is for me to know, and for you to never find out. Second, as it is now, the Discipline Squad doesn't have an Ashikabi. The guy for the job quit the day before he was scheduled to wing us. If I were to be winged to an Ashikabi outside of the squad, they would be forced to remove me," she explained.

"Coupled with the fact that I'm reacting to you…" she added, then smirked. "You do the math."

The silver-haired woman's pale cheeks simmered with a slight pink hue, while Minato backed away in surprise.

"So... You're going to use me to get out of the Squad?" Minato asked.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds worse than it is." The woman blushed a bit harder. "The only reason I'm here to begin with is because my partner and I were supposed to punish Number 88."

"Musubi!? What did she do wrong? She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met; that can't be right!"

"Well, that's the problem. She was being a bit _too_ nice." The woman began inspecting her claws nonchalantly, ensuring they held their razor-sharp edge. "She was giving out the MBI's secrets and going around asking people if they were her Ashikabi."

At this, Minato couldn't help but sigh. "Yeah, that sounds like something she would do."

"I decided to take the lead on the mission and scout ahead, to get a layout of the place. And during my scouting, I saw you and the Scrapped Number talking. I saw the way you talked to her, and realized that's what I wanted from my Ashikabi. Then I saw you kiss her."

Minato couldn't help but quiver, remembering the moment he and Akitsu had shared that morning. The woman only smiled at the rise she got out of him. He was putty in her hands.

"What a way to suck face," she murmured admiringly. The woman began making slow steps towards Minato. Her eyes seemed softer than before, and her features relaxed as she swayed her hips ever so slightly. "The moment you did, I could feel your aura hit me like a truck. It was... _strong_ , to say the least."

Minato backed up a bit more, still very wary of those claws she wore.

She let out a long, hot breath. "'Intoxicating', even."

He felt his back hit smooth wood and realized he'd run out of floor.

Her smile curved a little more; he was all hers. "Honestly, I like fighting. I love the rush I get when fists are flying. But punishing those who break the rules? Being told what to do by some company? Not for me." She halted in her advance. "Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself."

The woman took a few more steps forward before she pushed her breasts against Minato's chest. Which, in turn, caused him to babble incoherently as he lost track of his thoughts. She looked deep into his eyes as her own fell half-lidded.

"My name's Haihane. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sahashi Minato."

Minato swallowed hard in an attempt to choke back his surprise. "How do you-"

"Oh, trust me." Haihane purred as she ground her bandaged thigh against Minato's. "MBI gave me your file. 2nd year ronin, shy in nature, but incredibly selfless. Little to no confidence, as the majority of it was stamped out at a young age by your mother and sister. Mother is Sahashi Takami, sister is Sahashi Yukari. I know more about you than you do." Her lips curled into a smile that would make any man to go limp where they stood. "So, no, I don't want to use you to get out of the squad. I want you as my Ashikabi."

She inched closer, barely able to hold herself back. The burning feeling in her chest grew from a heated spark to a searing furnace. "I want you to love me for who I am, just like you do for your other Sekirei. Now, and fo-"

She was cut off by another woman grappling her from behind, wrapping her arms around Haihane's. Her long orange hair tossed about from the struggle, and the only thing covering _her_ body was a towel.

"I GOT HER, MINA-TAN! RUN FOR IT!" the strange girl screamed.

"What the-! Get off me, you psycho!" Haihane yelled. Minato was left speechless at what he was witnessing.

Haihane tried to raise her arms and swipe at the unknown woman, but couldn't break the bear hug she was trapped in. The struggle was short-lived, however, and ended when the orange-haired woman's foot slipped on the wet bathroom floor.

"WAAH!" Both women were sent flying into the tub. Steam could be seen rising from their heads as their faces donned a dazed and confused look. Minato felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead at the sight them and the situation they'd gotten themselves into.

 **0o0**

Miya had gathered nearly all of the tenants in the living room, including the orange-haired girl and the intruder. Minato was being coddled by his Sekirei, who were concerned about his wellbeing after the 'attack,' as they put it. Each of the tenants sat around the dining room table, while the intruder, along with the orangette, were sat in front of the television. Both bowed towards the terrifying landlady, who stood between the two groups. Minato sat next to Yashima while she inspected his body for wounds. Akitsu sat to his left, directly across the table from a pouting Musubi, who was frustrated by her position relative to Minato.

"Are you sure she didn't cut you, Minato-sama?" Yashima questioned firmly, her eyes darting from one part of his torso to another, sweeping his bare skin for any damage.

"Yes, Yashima-chan, I'm fine. There's no need to worry." Minato smiled at the effort Yashima was giving to protect him as best she could. "Can I please put my shirt on now?"

"I prefer when it's off," Akitsu muttered, loud enough for both Minato _and_ Miya to hear, which earned her a slight glare from her landlady.

Yashima, now satisfied with her examination, allowed him to re-don his clothing. To Akitsu's eyes, though, his torso remained undressed.

"Alright, now that that situation is taken care of, let us shift our focus to these two," Miya announced.

The orange-ette was now fully clothed in a long-sleeved, cream-colored Chinese dress (a "cheongsam", by Minato's recollection). The sleeves were much longer than they needed to be, coming close to swallowing her hands, like a child wearing a shirt too big for their frame. However, there was nothing childish about the rest. The shoulders had been cut out, making the sleeves look like they'd fall off after one good tug. Also removed was a small section between her clavicles, allowing a peek at her cleavage. Not that Minato had to use his imagination: the torso hugged her curves and showed off her flat stomach, perched below a bosom that could compete with Akitsu's or maybe even Musubi's. Overall, her outfit seemed designed to tease, flashing just enough to draw attention but tantalizingly keeping the rest a mystery.

Haihane, meanwhile, had dried off, now sitting wrapped in one of Miya's spare kimonos for her to wear in place of her tattered black one. Minato had to wonder if she'd also garbed herself in fresh bandages beneath.

"Let us start with you, Miss Trespasser. According to Minato-san, and your own word, you're only here to be with him, correct?" Miya gestured towards Minato, causing him to shrink a tiny bit.

"Yes, ma'am. I didn't mean for any harm to come to him or any of your tenants." Haihane bowed as a sign of respect, hoping that the landlady would understand.

"Hmm... Let me guess..." Miya pondered. "You're reacting to him, are you not?"

Everyone in the room, save for the orange-ette and Akitsu gasped loudly.

"H-How did you-" Haihane began.

"How did I know you were a Sekirei? Oh, please, tell me at least some of you noticed!" She giggled a bit behind her hand, amused by her tenants' confusion. "I could tell because I'm a Sekirei myself."

"WHAAAAT!?" a chorus of voices shrieked.

" _I_ knew it..." Akitsu muttered. The jab painted embarrassed faces on Minato's other Sekirei.

"Alright, alright, settle down." Miya slowly lowered a hand, and her tenants complied. "There is no need to fuss. I will answer all of your questions as soon as we're finished with these two."

Everyone reluctantly obliged, still flabbergasted at the thought of the landlady being a Sekirei.

Haihane was the first to speak up. "Ma'am, if I may, I would like to apologize to Minato-san."

The landlady thought for a bit, before saying, "I think that would be most appreciated, Haihane-san."

Haihane nodded, turned to face Minato, and bowed slightly. "Minato-san, I apologize for intruding on you, and I apologize for breaching your personal space. I hope you'll forgive me."

Minato simply waved his hands in front of him. "Don't worry about it, Haihane-san. I understand that the whole 'reaction' thing is a bit hard to control, so I forgive you," Minato assured her. Sometimes, even Minato himself believed he was too forgiving for his own good.

"Thank you." She sat back down in her place on the tatami mat, hanging her head in a bit of shame.

"Now, time for you, Matsu-san. Care to explain what you were doing in the bath while Minato-san was using it?" Miya asked the orange-haired woman now known as Matsu.

"Ehhh... It was a mistake?" She almost muttered, her large glasses glistening in the light of the room.

"Really. I thought that you had access to CCTV's all around the house, _including_ here in the living room, where Minato-san clearly stated that he was going to bathe. Am I mistaken, Matsu-san?"

Matsu felt her body go hot as sweat dripped down her forehead.

"I certainly hope you weren't lying to me, Matsu-san, and I hope you weren't breaking the rules of Maison Izumo on purpose." A devilish Hannya mask appeared out of thin air behind Miya, causing Matsu's blood to jump from hot to cold.

"A-A-Absolutely not, Miya-sama! I would never!" She stammered.

"That's very good to hear. Now, I believe there are some introductions in order." The Hannya mask dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

Matsu nodded, then bowed to everyone. "My name is Matsu, and I'm Sekirei Number 2, the Sekirei of Wisdom. I'm basically a computer genius, and can practically control electronics with my mind." Her glasses flashed in the light of the living room. "I also have a little bug planted on the MBI satellite laser, if anyone needs it."

She let out a manic giggle, which got her a smack on the head with a ladle.

"Control yourself around others, Matsu-san," Miya scolded, tucking the ladle beneath her arm.

"Yes, ma'am..." Matsu whined.

"Well, I suppose that's all taken care of. Is there anything else anyone would like to say?" Miya asked, which earned her a raised hand from Haihane. "Very well, say what you need."

"Well, first I wanted to introduce myself, since it seems... Mildly appropriate. I am Haihane, Sekirei 104, and member of the Discipline Squad." This earned a few quiet gasps and tensed muscles. "Well... I don't want to be a part of the Squad anymore. I want to be free to find my own Ashikabi, and to not be used as a tool for MBI."

The occupants of Maison Izumo couldn't help but feel bad for her, Akitsu the most.

"I understand how you feel, Haihane-san," the Ice Sekirei said softly. "You might not have known this, but I was the Scrapped Number that was rumored to exist. I was abused, experimented upon, and broken, all by the hand of the MBI. That is, until I found Minato."

Minato and Haihane's hearts warmed from Akitsu's words: Haihane, knowing that another had overcome her current plight, and Minato, feeling her outpouring gratitude and devotion through their bond.

"Thank you, Akitsu." She nodded to the Frost Maiden. "I really appreciate that."

"I also wanted to clear up a misunderstanding between me and Minato-san," The Blue Sekirei continued. "I do not wish to use you simply as a means to escape the MBI. To be honest, I never wanted to be a part of their little squad anyhow. All I really wanted was an Ashikabi that cared for me, rather than one who treated me as a tool."

"And, I would like to ask you, if it's okay... Would you..." She paused, trying to find the words for what she wanted to say.

"Oh, to hell with it!" Haihane blurted, breaking her respectful facade. "Sahashi Minato, I want you as my Ashikabi, dammit!"

"Whoa, hold on a se-!" Minato shouted.

Before anyone could react, Haihane had already sprung out towards Minato and dove into his chest, like a panther taking down a helpless gazelle. She crawled on top of him, and held her face inches over his own.

"Kiss me," she demanded, waiting only long enough for him to open his mouth. The moment their lips touched, a pair of inky indigo wings erupted from Haihane's back. All the heat in her chest spread to all parts of her body in a filling warmth, and she moaned loudly into the kiss. Minato was caught off guard by the sudden action, but quickly adjusted, and began wrestling with her tongue. He noticed a slight, yet distinct taste of peaches, which made the kiss he shared with her all the more surprisingly pleasant. He savored the feeling, as did Haihane.

Yashima was appalled by her lack of modesty when it came to her Ashikabi, Musubi was starstruck by Haihane's method of loving her newfound Ashikabi, and Akitsu kept her ice-cold expression, to hide her secret feelings of jealousy.

"Geez!" Yashima shouted. "Does no one in this place have any restraint, _aside_ from myself and Miya?!"

Haihane ignored the world around her. The MBI company head could have walked in right now to personally take care of her, and she wouldn't pay them any attention. All that mattered to her right now was her beloved Ashikabi. The feeling of her soulmate wrapping his arms around her waist only caused her to moan louder. Finally, she removed her lips from Minato's and inhaled hard. She stared lustily into his eyes.

"I'm yours, Sahashi Minato. And I'll love you 'til the end of time." She snuggled into his chest gently. Finally, she had found the one. The one that will care for her, and the one that she will fight against all odds for. Now, and forevermore.

Minato, however, had nearly passed out from lack of oxygen. He lay there, panting and blushing with his newest addition to his flock reveling in the ecstasy of simply being with him.

"I'm glad..." he wheezed, "that I can make you... This happy... Haihane-chan..."

Her cheeks began to heat at his use of the honorific.

"Well," Miya interjected, "since Haihane-san is now a member of Minato's Flock, I would assume you would like to stay here with him, yes?"

"Oh, yes, Asama-san! I'd like that a lot!" Haihane replied cheerfully, though her looks made it a bit awkward for her to express glee. While her toothy-grin gave off a happy vibe, her sanpaku irises caused anyone who gazed upon them to shudder, regardless of the emotions they held.

"Well, that means you will have to take up chores and help around the inn," Miya stated. "And, remember, one of my biggest rules for Maison Izumo is that any and all illicit sexual activity is strictly banned. So no sneaking into Minato-san's room during the night."

At this, the infamous Hannya mask appeared behind her, sending a chill down the silver-haired Sekirei's spine.

"Y-, Yes, ma'am!" Haihane stammered.

One of the sliding doors to the living room opened, revealing the now fully-clothed Uzume.

"Minato, you sly dog, you," she grinned. "You only just met this girl on your second day here, and you're already sucking face? For shame."

Minato shrank a little at the playful jest, hunkering down underneath Haihane. The silver-haired girl noticed this, and only hugged him tighter.

 _'Ah, he's so cute when he's getting teased. I love it.'_

"Ah, Uzume-san. It appears you're awake much earlier than usual," Miya said. "And what might the occasion be?"

"Well, I felt I should come down here and meet the other tenants," Uzume explained, taking a seat on the other couch, "Wouldn't want them thinking I'm some stranger walking the halls. Right, Haihane?"

This caused Haihane to flush in embarrassment. Miya let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I suppose yet another introduction is in order." Miya gestured to the brunette. "Uzume-san?"

"My name's Uzume, as _Miya_ -san already told you. And, you might have already guessed, but I'm a Sekirei, too." She gave a small wink to Minato. "I hope that we can all get along!"

"It's nice to meet you, Uzume-san," the newly-arrived tenants said in unison.

"Hey, wait..." Minato asked. "Haihane-chan, didn't you say you had a partner in the Discipline Squad?"

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too…" Uzume muttered, flopping back on the couch.

Minato was oblivious. "One who wanted what you did? Where is she?"

"Ah, Benitsubasa..." Haihane thought about the pink-haired fireball she called her partner. "She can wait. I'm sure she'll understand."

Haihane cuddled close to Minato, making the others in his flock stare at her in jealousy.

"Hey, now! Musubi want's a turn! Don't hog Master all to yourself!" She dog-piled Minato and his new Sekirei, trying to be as aggressively intimate with her lover as possible.

"Girls, calm down! There's plenty of me to go around!" Minato shouted, earning a laugh from everyone else in the room.

 **0o0**

 _Nearby, on the rooftop of an undisclosed building..._

The lens of a pair of binoculars shivered as their holder quaked with rage.

"Grrr..! That bitch!" The pink-haired girl seethed. Her grip on the binoculars tightened even more, causing the left lens to crack, distorting the image of the black-haired human and her partner cuddling, along with that big-breasted bimbo. "I called dibs, and you know it!"

She sighed and stood, throwing away the broken tool.

"No matter... I'll just have to make him fall in love with me, and he'll never want to talk to her again!" Her angered mouth spread into a wicked grin. "Yeah, that'll be the PERFECT payback!"

The pink-haired haired girl cackled into the morning sky, startling a few birds and causing them to fly from their perches.

 **0o0**

 **Alright, there we go! Finally, I have returned, and the first chapter I write back I make a major plot hole and have to fill it with more character introductions and developments. Great, lol.**

 **But all jokes aside, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I think I'm going to try and keep this story going for as long as possible.**

 **ALSO, a side note, I have recently been looking through the site's archive of Sekirei stories and found a story by the name of 'Not Alone'. It's written by an incredibly talented writer by the name of 'ashleygrusz'. From what I've seen, she's been terribly underrepresented as a writer and I think she deserves a bit more popularity for the amount of effort she puts into her fics. I would really appreciate it if you guys could go and check out her profile, as she not only has stories about Sekirei, but a few other shows as well.**

 **Plus, it appears that she's favorited this fic as well, so she'll probably see this message. ;)**

 **Remember, you can request any characters that you would like to see. I'll try and focus more on Minato's family life next chapter, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!**


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